Butterfly Effect
by pain17ification
Summary: A flap of the wings... A single decision... That's all it takes to start a chain of changes for the life of one Naruto Uzumaki. However, this chain will not only link to his life, but to other lives as well. What happens though, when a link of formed between him and a woman destined to birth two heroes? See what the Butterfly Effect will bring! Naru/Trisha, Ed/Win, Al/Mei, OC/Rosé
1. Chapter 1: A Flap of the Wings

**Salutations and good morrow, ladies and gentlemen! We've been here before, y'know! This is another one of those times where I say "I have a new story for you" and then you guys either: a) groan at yet** _ **another**_ **story, or b) get excited and/or interested!**

 **Well, after this first chapter, I hope to have you all under the "b" category! This is my second crossover between** _ **Naruto**_ **and** _ **Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood**_ **! For this one though, Naruto will unknowingly change history for the Elric brothers…as well as their mother, Trisha Elric.**

 **As always, I own nothing!**

* * *

 _Butterfly Effect_

 _Chapter One: A Flap of the Wings_

* * *

"Let's see," muttered the voice of a man as he carefully walked through the wreckage of his village. Only hours ago, the Village Hidden in the Leaves had been attacked by the combined efforts of two of the most powerful members that belonged to a criminal organization by the name of Akatsuki.

The Akatsuki was made up of Missing Ninja who were nothing short of S-Rank in both skill and threat level. The leader, at least the one everyone _believed_ to be the leader, was a man known to the Hidden Rain as their god; Pein. His partner had been known as "God's Angel"; Konan.

Pein, using six human corpses as puppet bodies, attacked the Leaf alongside Konan. The village had put up a valiant effort in defending their home, but the effort was lost when Pein unleashed a massive shockwave that had turned almost the entire village into a massive crater. It was at this moment that the Leaf's ninja forces felt despair and a sense of dying hope; all of them begging for some miracle to save them.

Answering that plea was Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine Tails Jinchuriki and newest Toad Sage after being trained by the Elder Toads of Mount Myoboku. He had been summoned, along with the two Elders, three Boss Toads, and the eldest son of the Chief Toad. After making sure that no one was in the way, Naruto had engaged the Six Paths of Pein with the power of the Toad's legendary Senjutsu (Sage Arts).

The battle was awing; a true clash of titans as a man with a Sage's eyes fought another with a Sage's body. However, in the end it was Naruto who left captured by Pein. The Toad Sage was about to be taken away when a young woman named Hinata Hyuuga leapt to his aid. After a shocking profession of her love for Naruto, she engaged Pein; but she was no match for his power and wound up being critically wounded by the Akatsuki member.

Horrified and enraged at the sight, Naruto gave into his anger and was consumed by the power of the Nine Tails. The man claiming to be a god fought off the transformed Jinchuriki, and Naruto went to eight tails worth of power from the fox before he was stopped by the most unlikely of people.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze who was not only the one to seal the fox into Naruto as an infant, but was also his father. Minato and his son took a moment to talk, with Naruto venting out years of frustration to the man. After that, Minato had told Naruto who was really behind the night of the fox's attack on the village, along with one other thing, before he restored the seal holding back the Nine Tails and placed his faith in his son.

Boosted by the confidence his father had in him, Naruto finally succeeded in finishing off the last puppet body of Pein before he used the man's own Chakra Rods to find his true location. Once he had arrived, he spoke to Nagato, a fellow Uzumaki who had been withered away by the very power he had been gifted with.

They finally spoke face to face, clashing the ideals they had picked up from their shared master, Jiraiya. It took some time, but eventually Nagato saw the part of himself that he had lost years ago within Naruto. Placing his faith in Naruto, he used the last of his chakra to revive all the people he had killed during his attack.

Konan then recovered the two bodies of her closest friends and then gave Naruto a bouquet of paper flowers, imparting words of hope that they would never die before taking her leave. Naruto stopped her just before, apologizing for his actions and hoping to meet her again on better terms. It surprised her, but she returned the sentiment.

After returning back to the village gates, Naruto had walked up to a crowd of Leaf villagers who cheered for his actions. The sight had left him speechless, for it was the one thing he had always dreamed for, but never truly believed would happen; acceptance from his own home. He was then swept up in the celebration, enjoying the praise that he had long sought for. After the cheers for him ended, the villagers then dispersed and began to repair their broken village. Ninja and civilian alike pitched in, showing once again the strength of the Will of Fire.

This brings us back to the beginning of this tale, with Naruto walking through a specific section of the destroyed village. "It's around here somewhere," he muttered before he perked up at the sight of a cracked archway. "Here we go… I can't believe this would've been my house if they had lived…"

Before him was the damaged house that once belonged to Naruto's parents, exactly where his father said it would be. It was rather plain, but Naruto wouldn't have asked for it to be any different. It was their home, and he was proud that it was able to stay standing after such an attack on the Leaf.

Stepping through the archway, he walked up to the door and grabbed the handle, not surprised when his hand was held in place and a sealing matrix appeared on the door. After a moment, the sound of a lock clicking open was heard and he stepped inside, taking in his would-be home for the first time.

It was dusty, but it still looked comfortable for a family of two going on three. The floor was a nice dark wood with white walls that had pictures decorating them. Various frozen moments from the lives of his parents were seen, from their time in the Academy, to Graduation, and even a few pictures of them as a couple.

He smiled softly at the sight of his parents, eyes growing misty as he pulled down a picture he had hoped to see; a family photo. Standing atop the Hokage Mountain, with a small breeze sweeping their hair, were his parents. His father stood proudly with a smile on his face as he held a redheaded woman with beautiful violet eyes that matched Naruto's own. She herself was leaning into the man, hands resting gently on her enlarged stomach while she grinned in such a way that he laughed softly, knowing now who he got his own from.

A tear fell as he smiled, gingerly brushing a hand over the picture to wipe away the dust. "Dad… Mom…" he whispered softly. He then turned the picture around, releasing the photo from the frame. "I've always wanted something to remember you two," he said to himself as he gently folded the picture and then pocketed it. Taking a moment to recompose himself, he then clapped his hands together and declared, "Alright, let's find those notes dad told us about!"

He then began to walk around the house, checking wherever he could for hidden compartments or seals. He found none in the kitchen or the living room, so he moved to the bedrooms. Starting with his parent's room, he didn't find any; but he did find his mother's journal, so he pocketed it. Resuming, he ended up finding nothing else. This left one last room in the house…

His.

He had to take a second to breathe, feeling extremely nervous about entering what would've been his room. Shakily, he grabbed the handle and opened the door, entering a nursery that had dark red walls with an orange colored Uzumaki Swirl on the ceiling. There was a black dresser, a bed (no doubt for one of the parents to sleep with him), and an orange crib.

The crib made him chuckle since it was in his favorite color. The chuckle became a snort of laughter as he realized the irony of his favorite color being the mix of the hair colors of his parents.

Carefully, he walked through the room as if the floor was made of fragile glass. He checked the dresser and the bed, finding nothing before he turned to the crib. Once he removed the small mattress, he smiled at the sight of a small seal, no bigger than a fingernail, resting in the center. He bit his thumb before he wiped the blood over the seal, making it flash white before a scroll appeared.

"There they are; dad's notes on the **Flying Raijin** (1)," he said with a grin. He then used his still bleeding thumb to make a storage seal on his arm, sealing the scroll there and drying the blood in the process. "Nice and safe. Now, I should go help the others in repairs."

His search over, he left the house and headed back to the village center with a smile on his face.

* * *

A few days had gone by since Naruto's victory against Pein. The newly named Hero of the Leaf was sitting next to an unconscious Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage and someone he had come to view as a mother he never had; even though he always called her "Grandma".

She had pushed herself beyond her limits during the attack, supplying chakra to her slug summon, Katsuya, so that she could heal as many Leaf villagers as she could. Guilt tore at him as he watched her unmoving form. If he had been a few minutes faster, would things had been different? Would the outcome be the same?

"I'm so sorry, Tsunade," he muttered softly, grabbing her hand. "I never wanted this to happen to you."

Shizune and Sakura, the two students of Tsunade, watched on sadly as the blonde Uzumaki spoke to his fellow blonde. Shizune had been with the Senju ever since she had lost consciousness, and she had been working tirelessly to make sure that her teacher was healthy. Turning to her fellow medic, she said, "We should give him a moment. C'mon, Sakura."

Nodding, the pinkette gave her teammate a reassuring pat on his shoulder before she followed Shizune to attend other patients. Left alone, Naruto began to think over what he could do to help Tsunade. His mind worked into overdrive, trying desperately to come up with a way.

And then, it hit him; like Fukasaku did with that staff of his whenever Naruto was messing up his meditation. There were a couple of times during training that Naruto had taken some hits that were more than he was used to. During those times, Shima had taken it upon herself to heal his wound with a mix of her medical chakra and Senjutsu.

It was a gamble, but he couldn't just sit by and do nothing while Tsunade was left comatose. So, he took a moment to gather the nature chakra needed for his Sage Mode, sitting absolutely still like he was taught. Once he felt like he had enough, he held his hands over the woman, resting his palms gently on the sides of her head.

"I hope this works," he mumbled to himself as he eased in the nature chakra, mixing it with his own in the form of a crude healing agent. Naruto didn't have much experience in healing, but he was taught the concept of it by Jiraiya during his three year trip.

The merging energies came out a yellowish-green, seeping into the woman's head at a slow and steady pace. The pressure of the situation, along with the control he needed to keep the flow steady, made Naruto start to sweat. He had never done anything like this before, but something told him he was doing well.

That hunch proved fruitful when Tsunade coughed in her sleep a few times before waking up with a gasp. She rose to a sitting position, taking deep breaths as she held her chest. "Where…" she was interrupted by a small coughing fit before she continued, "Where am I?"

"Oh, thank the kami!" she heard a familiar voice exclaim with a relieved sigh. Turning, she saw that it was Naruto who looked like he had exerted himself a great deal; though he was grinning at her. "Welcome back, Tsunade!"

"Welcome…back?" she asked in confusion. "What are you-?"

"You were in a coma after you used up so much chakra to heal the villagers. You've been out for a few days, but I woke you up!"

She blinked at that. "You did?" He nodded with his grin still in place. "How on earth did you do that?"

Naruto then explained his gambled attempt to heal her, making sure to apologize for doing something risky when he saw her frown. After he was done, his gaze was locked to the ground and his voice had become low. "I just…wanted you to wake up," he finished softly, showing how worried he was for her.

Tsunade couldn't help the small smile that came to her face at that, gratitude welling up in her for his actions. "Naruto," she said, making him look up to see her arms open. "Come here…"

He walked over to her and she embraced him in a gentle hug, conveying everything she felt towards him. Slowly, he hugged her back and she rubbed his back softly.

"You've got to be the luckiest idiot I know," she commented with a chuckle. "And I'm grateful for that. Thank you, Naruto."

He nodded as he kept embracing her, enjoying every moment of it. He had never been hugged like that before, and it once again supported how much he viewed the woman as a surrogate mother.

Once they pulled away, Naruto asked, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm still a bit sore and tired from my actions, but I'll be up and about after some rest. In the meantime, I think I'll have Shizune help you out."

"With what?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"What else?" she asked back with a smirk. "With healing lessons. If you could demonstrate enough control over your own chakra and something as complex as Senjutsu to wake me up from a coma, then I have little doubts that you can take up some basic healing lessons. Think of it this way: better to have and not need than need and not have."

He rolled that last comment off his tongue, letting it sink in before he nodded in agreement. "Alright then. You want me to get Shizune for you?"

"Sure," she replied with a smile, watching him leave. Once alone, she called out, "Go inform the Council that I'm up please, Cat."

An ANBU with a cat mask and long purple hair dropped her invisibility illusion and responded, "At once, Lady Hokage," before leaving without a trace.

* * *

The next morning had Tsunade recovered enough to speak to the Leaf Village Council comprised of the Clan Heads, Elders, the ANBU Commander Dragon, and an appointed representative of the Civilians. "Thank you all for coming here this early in the morning. I've called this meeting so that I could get a status report on the village, our forces, and our options."

Shikaku Nara, both the Nara Clan Head and the Jonin Commander, stood up from his seat to speak. "At the moment, most of our Chunin and Genin are taking charge of the repairs while the Jonin are taking missions to bring in much needed funds for our repairs."

The Hokage nodded before she turned to the ANBU Commander, who stood up from her seat. "My subordinates have been focusing their efforts on village security, with patrols and guards spread throughout the Leaf evenly. So far, no suspicious activity has been seen; but we will stay alert, Lady Hokage."

"I'm glad to hear it. What about our options for restoration?" asked the Senju.

It was the Civilian Representative that stood up at this. He was an average looking man who was reaching his fifties, but still had a sharp mind. "I believe that the answer has come in the form of our allies that our resident hero attained for us over the years. Wave has offered to send in carpenters to help rebuild homes, Spring has offered us some supplies to spread throughout the populace, and the Crescent Islands have supplied us with some extra funds; all of them under the pretenses of 'paying back their hero'."

Tsunade couldn't help the smile on her face when she saw the amused expressions of the other Council members, save the Elders. "And yet again, Naruto pulls our asses out of the fire," she commented with a chuckle. "In light of his continued success in regards to providing for our beloved home, I hereby nominate Naruto Uzumaki for the rank of Jonin. All in favor?" she asked with a raised hand, which was shared with all members save for the Elders. "Against?" Again, they didn't vote, which suited Tsunade just fine. "Then from this point forward, Naruto will be promoted to Jonin status. I'll be sure to send Shizune to him with the news since she'll be giving him some lessons."

"If I may," began Danzo Shimura, one of the Elders and a rumored warmonger of the village, "what exactly is it that your student is teaching our Jinchuriki?"

Tsunade frowned at Naruto being called by his status instead of his name. "I'm having her teach _Naruto_ ," she stressed the name, "about healing techniques. It was Naruto using his Senjutsu in conjunction with a crude healing jutsu that woke me from my coma. I'm going to refine his control over it so that he could bring more versatility when out in the field."

"Shouldn't the boy be more focused on studies that could be used against our enemies?" pressed the crippled man. "Our village has taken a heavy blow and has been left vulnerable for the other nations to attack. You must all realize the threat at hand, correct?" The other members looked a bit tense at his words. "If our Jinchuriki could defeat someone such as Pein, then why not increase his combat abilities? Why waste his time on unnecessary skills that we could train others in?"

"Because we Naruto to be prepared for _all_ situations. What if he runs across a situation where he has an injured teammate and no medic? He could prevent those situations from happening if he had the proper training under his belt. This matter is closed and I'm not changing my mind, Danzo."

The man frowned in disapproval, but he remained silent as the meeting was adjourned. Once it was, he went to his own private bunker where his personal ROOT forces were waiting for him. "I need at least two ROOT observing Uzumaki at all times. These _lessons_ that our _esteemed_ Hokage are giving him must be proven to be a waste of time. And once they are, we'll start the Jinchuriki on some _actual_ training."

"Yes sir," replied two of them as they disappeared.

* * *

"N-No way," stuttered Naruto in shock as Shizune offered him the Jonin flak jacket with a bright smile.

"Take it, Naruto! You've earned this, and the Council was almost all in agreement, according to Lady Tsunade!" replied the woman as she held the jacket out to him.

Shakily, the blonde took the flak jacket and put it on before putting his Sage cloak on over it. Once everything was put on, he stood nervously in front of Shizune. "So…how do I look?"

Her smile softened and she answered, "You look the same as always; a true shinobi, just with an extra flak jacket."

He was surprised at her comment, but he smiled bashfully and rubbed his head like he always did when he was embarrassed. "Thanks… So, what's first for our lessons?"

"Well, the first thing we taught Sakura was how to keep a fish outside of water alive. The point of this is to control the direction a medic's chakra flows; in this case, the fish's lungs. Now, go ahead and gather the nature chakra needed for your Sage Mode." He nodded and took a few minutes to gather the energy needed before he nodded to her. She then pulled out a scroll and unsealed a fish that immediately began to flop in place. "Go ahead, Naruto. Gather some healing chakra and carefully distribute it to the fish's lungs."

Nodding, the Uzumaki took a breath to calm himself before he held his hands over the fish. Narrowing his eyes, he focused solely on controlling his chakra, his hands giving off a yellow-green glow. "This is…harder than I thought," he groaned out.

"You're doing great," she assured him as the fish was still breathing under his treatment. "Just maintain that control for a bit longer."

He didn't respond since he feared it would ruin his concentration. The jutsu was held up for a few more minutes before the strain of the chakra control took hold and Naruto fell back, his legs giving out while he breathed heavily. While he tried to regain his breath, Shizune resealed the fish and smiled approvingly.

"That was excellent, Naruto!" she praised. "You did so much better than I had thought. That Senjutsu of yours is great for healing."

"It still surprises me, to be honest. I'm so used to Senjutsu being used for combat…and getting whacked on the head when I gathered too much," he added with a sheepish chuckle, remembering all the bumps he had received.

Shizune chuckled too as she helped him stand up. "We'll continue this tomorrow. For now, I need to help make sure Tsunade recuperates fully."

"Alright, I'll see you then, Shizune." He waved her goodbye as he was left alone in the training field. Rolling back his sleeve, he revealed his blood seal and unsealed the notes his father left. The scroll was then opened and he looked over the first part of the jutsu. " _The_ _ **Flying Raijin**_ _is a space/time jutsu that is made with a seal matrix,_ " he read.

* * *

Before anyone knew it, a week had come to pass. So far, the restoration of the village had been going well; especially with the assistance of the other nations that Naruto had helped in the past. The Hidden Sand had also helped, sending mission requests to the Leaf so that they could get some extra funds.

Another thing that had happened was an envoy from the Hidden Cloud that was comprised of a Jonin named Samui and her two Chunin teammates, Karui and Omoi. They had come to tell the Leaf that the Akatsuki was moving again and that they had taken their sensei, Killer Bee, who was also the Eight Tails Jinchuriki.

However, the one who had apparently caught Bee was none other than Sasuke Uchiha, the runaway member of Team 7 and the last Uchiha. Last they had heard from him was that he had finally killed Itachi and "avenged" his fallen clan. It was a shock to many of the Uchiha's old classmates that he had fallen so far.

However, Naruto seemed to take this the worst, and not in the way many expected. While many assumed that he would be saddened by this, the Uzumaki was instead furious. Everything that he had done was to help bring Sasuke home. After hearing that his efforts had been wasted – and practically spit on with the Uchiha joining the very group his brother was a part of – Naruto had surprisingly declared that he was done trying to save Sasuke. He would still bring the traitor back, out of respect to his promise to Sakura, but it would not be on friendly terms.

To Naruto, Sasuke was now a criminal who would answer for his crimes; not an ex-teammate or a fellow Leaf ninja.

Team Bee had asked the Leaf for anything regarding Sasuke such as techniques and fighting styles. However, the Leaf didn't have much since the last encounter with Sasuke was made by Team Kakashi; and Sasuke hadn't shown much at that time. Still, the Cloud envoy took whatever info they could before informing Tsunade that she was requested to come to a meeting of the Five Kage in the Land of Iron, along with two escorts.

Tsunade accepted the request, and had appointed Kakashi and Neji to be her escorts. She would've brought Naruto, but she knew he was still needed in the village for both restoration with his clone technique and for morale.

Meanwhile, Naruto was about to take his first real attempt with the **Flying Raijin** jutsu. Shizune was observing, having just finished the day's lesson with him. Naruto had asked her to since she was the more experienced Jonin of the two and he wanted her opinion.

"Okay, so the process seems simple enough," began the blonde. "I just throw the kunai and home in on it with my chakra, making it act like a beacon for me to 'flash' to."

"That's what the notes say. And you made the appropriate changes to the matrices according to your father's notes. The kunai are now linked to your specific chakra signature."

Naruto nodded at that before he stared down at the tri-pronged kunai in his hand. "Here goes," he whispered before he threw the kunai, having it stab itself into a tree twenty yards away. "Now, to home in on it…"

As he began to mold the chakra needed, he was unaware of the entity within him smirking cruelly. The fox was incredibly bitter about being stopped once again by Minato, and it finally found its chance to get back at both him _and_ his son. So, while Naruto sent forth his chakra, the fox sent out its own, intertwining it with Naruto's and disrupting the jutsu.

The result outside was beyond shocking. The seal on Naruto's abdomen lit up in a furious red while Naruto groaned in pain and fell to his knees. Shizune quickly got up to help him, but the sudden pulse of chakra kept her at bay. The scariest thing though was that a black line began to form, separating the seal like a border.

The line then began to expand and open, revealing a large eyeball that had a gray iris and black tendrils with hands on the ends wriggling out of its tear ducts. The tendrils latched onto Naruto, who was at this point crying out in shock and pain as he body began to break away wherever the tendrils touched him.

Desperate, he turned to Shizune and reached a hand out to her, and she did the same while being held back by the continuous expulsion of chakra. "NARUTO!" she cried out as she saw him finally disappear completely. Her sudden change in momentum, due to the chakra vanishing with Naruto, caused her to stumble and fall.

She immediately stood up and rushed back to the main village, pushing her body beyond its limits so that she could reach Tsunade as quick as possible. Meanwhile, one of the ROOT members turned to their partner and the two nodded. Danzo would have to hear about this.

* * *

Violet eyes shot wide open as Naruto sat up in shock, still feeling the phantom pains of being broken apart. "Shizune!" he cried out as soon as he sat up, before his surroundings caught his focus.

White.

That was the only word to describe the endless void he found himself in. Nothing but white as far as he could see. Standing up, he called out hesitantly, "Hello…?"

 _"Hello there,"_ came a voice that sound like a mix of a man's, a woman's, and a child's all in one. Naruto turned to see a humanoid shape with a black outline and no features whatsoever sitting before him. The figure grinned, showing many teeth that were outlined in black just like it was. _"Well now, this is interesting. I've never had a visitor from somewhere I've never known about before. You're definitely not an Alchemist either, so we can rule out you trying Human Transmutation."_

"Human what now?" asked Naruto in confusion before shaking his head. "No, forget that! Where am I and who the hell are you?!"

 _"Who am I, you ask. I'm honestly glad you did,"_ replied the entity with its grin still in place. _"I go by many titles. I am what you call the World. Or perhaps maybe the Universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps Truth, or perhaps All, or perhaps One. However, I am also,"_ it then pointed at Naruto, and spoke again with his own voice mixed in with the three others, _"you."_

"Me? But you just said I'm from somewhere you never knew about," argued the blonde. "How could you be me when you never knew about me?"

 _"A good question!"_ praised Truth, speaking more in just Naruto's own voice. _"But the answer is really unimportant at the moment, isn't it? After all, you're more concerned with how you got here, and if you could return home…right?"_ Naruto nodded with a serious look on his face, which made Truth's grin drop. _"I'll cut to the chase, then. You arrived here because of the actions of a sore loser, and there is no way back to your home with the knowledge you have now."_

His eyes widened in shock as he took an involuntary step back. "N-No way back…?" he gasped out.

 _"Sorry, but those are the breaks. You arrived here with the use of something that tampers with space and time; two very important regions that should never really be messed with. However, it was not your fault that you arrived here."_ Truth then pointed at Naruto's shadow. _"The real culprit is there."_

Looking down, Naruto saw that his shadow had taken the form of the Nine Tail's silhouette. Red eyes glared back at him from the shadow, making him growl in anger. "You… You did this to me?!"

 _ **"** ** _O_ f course I did!"**_ the fox roared back. _**"I was so close to finally being free of your wretched body, but then that bastard father of yours shows up and ruins everything for me! Then, you have the gall to try and learn the very technique that he used against me to bring me to you for sealing!"**_

His fists were clenched and his teeth gnashing together hard enough to draw blood. Truth remained expressionless at the scene, waiting for a moment to cut in. _"You wanted freedom from this young man before me,"_ it commented, getting the attention of the two outsiders. _"And to do so, you risked the life of the one thing tying you down in the world."_ Its grin suddenly came back full force and it laughed loudly. _"What a foolish and arrogant being you are!"_

 _ **"** **You dare call me a fool?! You're the arrogant one, calling yourself God of all things!"**_

This didn't do anything to stop Truth's laughter. _"I'll give you what you want, fox,"_ it offered. _"But what would you give up for it?"_

 _ **"** **This brat before you! He's the only thing holding me back!"**_ immediately answered the Nine Tails.

 _"You would so willingly forsake a life for something as trivial as freedom?"_ Truth then hummed in thought before perking up. _"I see now… Fine then! I'll set you free…"_

Naruto looked on in horror at that while the shadowy form the fox took grinned maliciously.

 _"…but I'll take the one thing you pride in as payment,"_ finished Truth as a tremendous gate slowly came into view from nothingness right behind it. As the gate opened up to darkness, Naruto shivered at the sight of the same eye from before opening up inside the gate, only _much_ larger than the one that had opened over his seal. _"Come and taste your freedom, spawn of malevolency…but leave your power behind; the very power you held on to with such misgiven pride."_

The same dark tendrils from before shot out from the gate, latching onto Naruto's seal. With a forceful tug, they began to pull out a patch of orange fur while the shadowy Nine Tails returned back into Naruto's own shadow. More and more fur began to come out of the seal, taking shape before Naruto and Truth. After what felt like a lifetime of pain from Naruto, the Nine Tails was fully pulled out of him, sitting tall in front of the human.

The fox grinned down at Naruto maliciously before a pulse was heard, sounding much like an echoing heartbeat. While the Uzumaki was gasping for air, the fox suddenly grabbed its stomach in agony, roaring at the pain while its tails lashed out. However, what horrified the fox the most was that its tails began to recede, going from the nine it was so proud of to just a single tail.

That wasn't all. It began to shrink and lose its gargantuan size, already becoming the size of a house. Following this were the snapping of bones that made Naruto cringe and the fox go from roaring to howling in pain. Where once humanoid forelegs presided, now stood two naturally looking fox legs as the once great beast was now the size of an average fox with a single tail.

Still grinning, Truth proclaimed, _"There! I have given you what you have truly desired, little fox! You are now free from this human before you, while the power you once prided in remains inside of his very core!"_

Naruto was speechless at this, and his jaw then dropped as the fox turned and growled at Truth, giving off a series of angry barks before stopping with a stupefied expression on its face. This made Truth laugh once more.

 _"You didn't honestly think you were able to even speak without your power, did you? Your freedom has been attained, and you will now live out your days as a normal fox. You should be grateful, for I kept my end of the bargain and gave you your deepest desire."_

The fox began to bark angrily again and even made to lunge at Truth, but it was pointless as it was then sent away to an unknown location. Finally finding his voice, though it was still very weak, Naruto asked, "You… You turned him into an ordinary fox?"

 _"You don't pay attention much, do you?"_ Truth asked teasingly. _"The fox is gone, sent away to live in the wild with its own kind while the power it had rests in you. In time though, the power will fade since it is not truly yours. Though, that odd mark on your body seems to have an interesting purifying effect on the energy. I can already sense it mixing into your natural core after being purified."_ Truth then chuckled as the thought of this human's future came to mind. He would certainly be an interesting variable to observe. _"Give it maybe a year or so to fully integrate into you, and then you will finally be a regular human; except with this energy you call 'chakra' inside of you."_

"But wait!" interrupted Naruto. "What happens now? If I can't go back with what I know now, how do I get back then?!"

 _"Those questions are ones you will have to answer for yourself. I may see and know everything, but that doesn't mean I can just give you all the answers. That's the main point in life; to set off on a journey for the Truth. But even then, it isn't the Truth that is important…"_

Naruto then felt some more of those tendrils grabbing him from behind and pulling him into a different gate. With a scream of shock and fear, he was taken inside.

But, just as the gate's doors were closing, he heard Truth finish, _"…it is the journey that really matters."_

* * *

The first thing Naruto experienced when he came to was how incredibly cold it was. His eyes opened and he saw that wherever he arrived at was experiencing a light snowfall. He himself was laying on his back on top of some snowy ground. He sat up and shook his head, getting snow out of his wild locks before standing up fully and patting away the snow on his clothes.

"Geez," he muttered, taking in his surroundings and noticing that he was near a snowy mountain range. "Where the hell am I?"

A breeze passed him, making him shiver and bring his red cloak closer to his body. Deciding that staying in one place would be stupid in this weather, he began to walk toward the mountain's base. He used chakra to keep his feet above the snow, using the same method as the water walking exercise that he had learned during his Chunin Exams years ago.

For nearly an hour, he walked across the snowy plains of whatever land he was in, getting closer to the mountain. His eyes squinted, due to the wind picking up more snow, as he saw something coming up in the distance. As he kept getting closer, the object became clearer before he saw that it was in fact a huge wall made of metal that looked to be a fortress.

"Whoa… That's a big wall," he said to himself in awe before a voice called out to him.

"Hold it! Don't move!"

He paused when he saw two people rise up from seemingly nowhere, dressed in white so that they could stay hidden. The blonde mentally cursed himself for not being more aware of his surroundings while also commending the two men for their great use of camouflage.

"Hands in the air, now!" ordered the second man, holding up a strange device that had a metal tube pointed at him. Naruto frowned slightly before complying, not wanting any trouble. "No sudden moves," the man ordered again as the first one came up behind the Uzumaki and cuffed his hands behind his back.

"You'll be coming with us for questioning," the one who cuffed him explained. "Major Armstrong will want a word with you."

"I didn't mean to trespass," Naruto tried to explain as he was led towards the wall. "I don't even know where I am."

"Save your words for the interrogation, kid. We won't be able to do anything for you," the second soldier stated.

"And a word of advice," the first added, "don't do anything to piss off the Major."

The way the two men tensed up at that made Naruto nervous. _'Just where the hell am I?'_ he mentally asked as he was led inside the wall.

* * *

 **1~ I'm going to be using the** _ **VIZ Media**_ **translations for jutsu in this story**

 **And here we are with the first chapter of this new story! I'm honestly very excited to see how you guys will react to this!**

 **Now, for those who are curious, a Butterfly Effect is a theory concerning how a small act can make big changes down the line. In this case, the "wing beats" that started the changes was when Minato told Naruto about his notes concerning the Flying Raijin jutsu. This led to more changes (Tsunade waking up early, Naruto taking up medical lessons, and Naruto becoming a Jonin) before leading to the biggest change; Naruto being forced to leave his home world.**

 **Now, Naruto will start a new chain of "wing beats", starting with his arrival at Fort Briggs. I'll tell you right now that he will be paired with someone that I've wanted to see him with for a while now; Trisha Elric.**

 ***grins* I'll let you guys try and figure out what else will change because of Naruto's butterfly effect! Until next time, everyone!**

 **pain17ification**


	2. Chapter 2: A New Start

**Hey everyone! Here comes Chapter Two!**

 **As always, I own nothing!**

* * *

 _Butterfly Effect_

 _Chapter Two: A New Start_

* * *

"Can someone please explain to me," calmly began Naruto before he exploded, "WHY THE HELL I'M IN A PRISON CELL?!"

He was currently standing behind the bars of said cell while a thick wooden plank fashioned into handcuffs was locked around his wrists. Standing on the other side were a couple of soldiers as well as a man with brown hair that spiked upward and clothes fit for a doctor.

"You're here for questioning. It's standard procedure for those questioned to wait in cells before the interrogation," answered the doctor as he sipped some of his coffee.

The Uzumaki groaned out a sigh as he rested his head against the bars. "Great… First I'm taken from home, then I meet some weird ass deity thing, then I wind up in some snowy place, and now I'm locked up," complained Naruto.

The doc rose a brow at what he said. "I might have to give you a checkup before you see the boss. You might be suffering from something from that snowstorm…"

Naruto was about to retort before the door leading to the cells opened and a man with his blonde hair cut flat walked in followed by an average looking soldier and a female soldier that looked similar to the blonde man; however, she had longer hair that curled at the ends and covered her right eye with a sword strapped to her belt.

"So," began the man as he stopped in front of Naruto's cell, "this is our little trespasser."

"Trespasser? I don't even know where the hell I am!" argued the Uzumaki before the tip of the blonde woman's sword was instantly poking his neck.

"You will show respect to our Major, you Drachmann dog!" she growled out, making him look at her blandly.

"Yea, I don't think so. Respect to people who lock me up and call me a dog? Not happening. Besides, I'm not some Drachmann whatever. I'm a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village."

"And where is this 'Hidden Leaf'?" asked the Major, who Naruto assumed was Armstrong.

"It's…far away," despondently answered the whiskered blonde. "I don't know if I can get back…"

He jerked back in surprise when a map was put in front of him, showing different countries and cities. Armstrong pointed at a part that said "Briggs" and stated, "We're here. Now, where is this village of yours?"

"Uh, sir?" interrupted the doctor, getting the attention of everyone else. "This young man was actually spouting off some strange things before you arrived. I think we might need to do a checkup on him first."

"What kind of things, Johnson?"

"Well, he said that he met some deity," that got raised brows and a scoff from the blonde woman, "that he was taken from home and that he just _wound up_ here."

"It's the truth, dammit!" yelled Naruto. "I'm not from here, or anywhere else on that map of yours! I was taken from my home and some… _thing_ calling itself Truth said that I was in a _new world_ of all places! And based on what I've seen so far…I think it was right."

The woman glared at him, sword still drawn. "Stop your stupid lies! There's no way that you're from some 'other world'! You have no proof!"

"Olivier," cut in the Major sternly. "Stand down and let him speak." She looked ready to argue, but his narrowed eyes stopped her. "You know our ways; we allow those questioned an opportunity to explain themselves. Now, you," he turned to his prisoner, "what is your name before we continue?"

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And if you want proof, let me ask you," he began before he started to gather chakra in his arms. "Can a person from _this_ world do this?" He then ripped apart the wooden cuffs and continued before anyone could answer, "Or how about this?!" He formed a _**Rasengan**_ between his hands, shocking everyone at the sight. He let it dissipate and finished, "Or what about _this_?!"

The kicker for the Briggs Soldiers was seeing the blonde man hold his fingers in a cross shape and for an exact copy of him to appear in a small poof of smoke. Both whiskered blondes were looking annoyed at the others before the copy left in another burst of smoke and the original crossed his arms with narrowed eyes.

"Believe me now?" he asked. "Or do I need to give another demonstration?"

The Major turned to the soldiers standing guard and asked, "You searched him, correct?"

"Yes, sir," answered one.

"Did he have any markings on him that could be associated with Alchemy?"

 _'Alchemy?'_ thought Naruto in confusion.

"No, sir, he didn't. The only marks he had were the ones on his face, and we saw nothing concerning about them."

"We also confiscated all of his weapons and clothes before issuing him the ones he's wearing now," added the second one.

It was true. Naruto was currently dressed in a set of black sweats and a gray shirt that had a number on it; similar to a prisoner's uniform.

"This can't be real," denied Olivier, still in shock. "There must have been something that you missed!"

"We saw nothing out of the ordinary, ma'am," stated the first guard. "He had a blood marking on his arm, but we wiped it away before we gave him the clothes."

Naruto mentally sighed in relief at taking out the scroll with his father's notes before he was searched. That scroll, along with his clothes, his mother's journal, their photo, and his weapons pouch, was currently on the table in the corner of the room next to the doctor.

Major Armstrong hummed in thought before turning to Naruto. "You understand that this is still quite difficult to accept. I heard about an alternate form of Alchemy that was used in the east, and your name is close to how other eastern immigrants sound. For all I know, you could be using that."

Sighing and rubbing his temples, the Uzumaki replied, "Look, I'm not from the east, I don't know shit about Alchemy, and I have no idea where anywhere is. The last thing I was doing before I arrived here was giving a technique my father left me a try before something interfered. Then I end up standing in front of something calling itself Truth before said thing sent me here. All I want to do is try and find a way to get back home." He stopped rubbing his head before giving Armstrong a hard look, which was returned by the man. "There are people there that need me and a group of terrorists that I need to take down before they kill everyone."

"Uncle, you can't really believe him," cut in Olivier. "This man is either crazy or lying and he could be trying to get us to let our guard down so that he could sabotage Briggs!"

The Major ignored her as he continued staring Naruto directly in his eyes. Blue met blue and no words were said as Naruto tried to convey everything that he had said in their stare down.

After a moment, Armstrong said, "Men, escort Uzumaki to my office. I wish to speak with him in private."

"Sir?" questioned the doctor in surprise. "Not to try and undermine your authority, but are you sure that's wise?"

"I think after everything we've seen today that we can give this young man the benefit of the doubt. Besides, there is something I wish to ask him without prying eyes or ears. And if he is in fact a saboteur, then I can handle myself," he declared, clenching his fists and popping all of his fingers for good measure.

The men looked concerned, but they couldn't refuse an order. So, they opened the cell doors and let Naruto walk out with them at his sides and two pistols pointed at him just in case. Naruto took this moment to ask, "If it's alright with you, could you make sure nothing happens to my things? They're all I have left from home; especially that photo on top."

The doctor looked to the Major, who nodded once, before he answered, "Yea, I'll keep an eye on them."

Olivier was still scowling at the situation and, as soon as Naruto was escorted out, she went over to his things and began to search them personally, much to the disapproval of the doctor. She found a scroll, some orange and black clothes with a dark green flak jacket and a red and black cloak, a pouch that held knives and star shaped projectiles, a journal that belonged to a "Kushina Uzumaki", and the photo that he had mentioned.

She unfolded it without losing her expression before she stared down at the picture of a blonde man and redheaded woman posing atop a mountainside and smiling warmly at the camera. The woman was obviously pregnant and both of the adults had features that Naruto shared, making Olivier deduce that they were most likely his parents.

"Tch, what sentimental crap," she muttered. She always felt that certain emotions and sentiments dulled your blade, made you weak.

The doctor took a look at the photo and couldn't help but smile at the happy couple in it. "Sentimental, maybe," he agreed, "but these things might be all that he has of his parents; much like that sword you carry."

She turned to him harshly and rebutted, "I don't carry this for sentiment! This is a weapon, and one that I plan to use to its fullest ability."

"Not to mention one that your parents gave you, if what the Major told me is true," fired back the man with a small grin.

She glared at him and stormed out. "Don't you have work to do?" she asked heatedly as she left.

The doctor could only chuckle at the hotheaded woman as he drank his coffee.

* * *

"Take a seat," said the Major as he sat behind his desk and Naruto took the offered chair. "Now, understand that I'm only letting you speak with me because I want to personally verify your claims."

"How the hell do you think you can do that if you've never been to my world?" questioned back the Uzumaki. "You can't verify what you've never seen before."

"True, I can't. However, I am the one keeping you alive here and out of trouble with our government. If I wanted to, I could label you a criminal and have you hunted down all over the country."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Fair enough… Though, I think I can take care of myself. I have ways to go about unseen."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Now, how are you able to pull of those techniques of yours?"

"First, if I tell you everything, then I want your word that I'll be let go and allowed to leave."

"You seem to think you hold the cards, Uzumaki," challenged Armstrong.

"I may not hold all of them, but I hold enough to secure my own escape from this place," calmly replied the whiskered blonde. "This is just my way of trying to keep from using those cards and hurting other people."

The Major stared down his fellow blonde, seeing total confidence in his cerulean eyes. "I'll let you walk around Briggs freely, but I won't let you just leave. I need to see for myself if you are trustworthy."

"Fine, I can live with that for now. As for your question, those techniques use chakra, which is a mix of my physical Yang energy and spiritual Yin energy. Everyone from my world has chakra and they can use it to perform all sorts of feats. Those two techniques I showed you were just my most used ones."

"Is it possible for others to gain this chakra?"

"You mean you and your soldiers," accused the Uzumaki. "No, you can't. We're born with chakra cores, and it's not possible to make artificial ones to my knowledge."

"I see. You said that you were called a shinobi. What exactly is that?"

"In your terms, it's basically what we call our soldiers. We start training at young ages and achieve Genin status at around fourteen years of age. This is the lowest rank with the next being Chunin, and then Jonin; which I was just recently promoted to. There are also our special ops forces known as ANBU and the leader of our village, known as the Kage."

"Recently promoted?" asked the Major with a raised brow.

"Those terrorists that I mentioned?" began the younger blonde, making the elder nod. "Two of their highest members attacked my home. I was away in preparation for them, and I wasn't brought back in time before the leader nearly destroyed the village. Once I was summoned, I took them down and saved my home. The villagers called me a hero and I was promoted from Genin to Jonin for my actions."

"So, you skipped a rank for your efforts. I suppose you should feel proud of yourself."

"I do, but I'm also sad that the ones I lost couldn't have seen me be promoted. But, I swore to press forward for them and took on my master's will of bringing peace to my world. I can't do that while I'm stuck here, which is why I need to search for way to get back home."

The Major offered a small smirk at his words. "Took on his will… Not many soldiers do that for their superiors since not many establish that kind of bond."

"Back home, it's believed that those kinds of bonds and camaraderie make us stronger. We inherit the wills of our teachers and loved ones, and we let them burn brightly within us. That…is called the Will of Fire."

"Will of Fire…" murmured Armstrong. "A fitting title. You must be quite strong since inheriting your master's?"

"Not just his," replied Naruto. "I also inherited the will of our past Kage who was like a grandfather to me, and also the wills of my parents who sacrificed themselves for me on the night of my birth. I live, a train, and I fight to keep their wills burning strong."

The determination in his eyes made the Major chuckle softly. "I can see the strength within you, Uzumaki. I can also tell that everything that you've said is the truth in your eyes. While I may not have a way to verify your claims, I can honestly say that I can believe you."

"Then…?" began Naruto.

"I believe we can risk letting you walk about. However, I have a request to make of you."

"A request? What is it?"

The Major smirked before he stated what he wished.

* * *

"Well, you seem to be perfectly healthy," stated the doctor as he finished Naruto's checkup. "Which is surprising since you walked through the snow in such thin clothing. I'm surprised you didn't even catch a cold out there."

' _Thank the Kami for my Uzumaki blood,'_ Naruto mentally thanked, remembering how Tsunade had told him about the lost Uzumaki Clan and their impressive longevity.

"But, just to be safe, I'll give you a vaccination," finished the practitioner as he readied a needle, making Naruto pale.

"N-N-Needle?" he stuttered. _This_ was why he hated going to hospitals. Every time he went, someone wanted to poke him with something.

"Oh, quit being such a baby. It's just a little needle," admonished Johnson as he walked over to the sweating young man and searched for a vein. When he found one, he poked the needle inside, making Naruto flinch just a bit as he dispensed the medicine. "There, now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Naruto grumbled at his smart ass expression before he got off the chair he was placed in and put on his regular clothes. He put the scroll with his father's notes in one of his flak jacket pouches and put his mother's journal in his back pocket before he folded up the photo of them and placed it in his jacket pocket.

"Alright then, the Major is waiting for you with some soldiers so that you could start your evaluation. These soldiers all volunteered for this, so there might not be that many. While we have no doubt that we're tougher than many other branches of the military, there's still the prideful ones that refuse outside opinions."

"Okay, I can work with that. If anyone else wants to join later on, I won't mind."

"Good. It's just down this hall," stated the doctor as he led Naruto to a storage room that had space made for training purposes. In that space was the Major, his niece, and about ten soldiers dressed in training gear. "I need to head back to my office. Good luck, Uzumaki."

"Right," replied the blonde as he stepped up to the Major. The deal he had made was simple; Naruto trains some of the soldiers in combat skills, mainly physical ones, and Briggs keeps quiet about his powers. It was a decent offer, and it would help establish a form of trust between him and the Major.

"I'm pleased to see that Johnson cleared you for this, Uzumaki. Now, these soldiers have volunteered to take some lessons from you, and Olivier will join them," explained Armstrong.

"I doubt there's much I can learn from someone like you," commented the woman with crossed arms.

"Stick around," challenged Naruto with a foxy smirk. "I might surprise you. Okay, first off I want to see how each one of you handles a physical combat situation. That means none of those gun things."

The Major had told him about firearms and Naruto was surprised at the weapon's lethality. He prayed that no one would be able to make something like guns back home.

"I'll leave you to it, Uzumaki. I'll expect reports at the end of the day," Armstrong stated.

"I'll have them ready for you, Major. Now, who wants to go first?" asked the Uzumaki before his instincts kicked in and he shot his hand up with a kunai ready just in time to block a sword strike from Olivier. She held her weapon with both hands while Naruto held her a bay with one. He smirked and asked rhetorically, "Not one to beat around the bush, are you?"

"Just shut up and fight, Uzumaki!" she yelled back as she broke away from their locked weapons and stood at the ready. The other nine soldiers backed up to give them space while Naruto put his kunai away. "What are you doing?"

"I don't think I'll have trouble with you, Olivier," replied Naruto as he did a couple of stretches. "You're fast and you have great form, but there are people _much_ faster than you back home."

"Bastard," she growled out. "Are you underestimating me?"

"And if I am?" asked back Naruto with a challenging grin. This was what he was aiming for, after all. What better way to see how a person really fights than to get them fired up?

She roared out a battle cry as she rushed him, swinging her weapon fiercely and fluidly, using everything she had learned from her late sword master. However, her skills weren't enough to worry her opponent who was leaning and ducking under every strike with annoying ease. She went for a bisecting slash, but he merely spun out of the way and crouched before he went with his spin and swept her legs. She was brought off balance and fell on her back just in time to see Naruto pointing her own sword at her neck.

"We'll start our lessons with this; never let your enemy get under your skin and never rush into a fight without knowing what your opponent is capable of," declared the Uzumaki, knowing full well that he was guilty of both of those mistakes on multiple occasions. He had something going for him though, so he could get away with it. However, these soldiers didn't, so they'd need to fight smart.

The other soldiers nodded at his words, though they were honestly shocked at how efficiently he had taken down Olivier, who was rumored to being groomed to succeed her uncle's position as head of Briggs.

"Now," continued Naruto as he stood up from over Olivier and stabbed her sword into the ground, "let's begin with some physical exercises. I want all of you to drop and give me fifty!"

One thing the Major advised him on was to be assertive in his training. The soldiers of Briggs were tough, so they only really respected strength. If one gave orders in a weak voice, they would be ignored. However, if orders were given in a direct and forceful tone, then they were followed to the letter.

"Yes, sir!" replied the other soldiers as they all began their exercises, except for Olivier who was glaring at Naruto for her loss.

He met her glare with narrowed eyes and said, "You too; drop and give me fifty."

"I don't take orders from y-" she tried to say before Naruto had a clone form behind her and bring her to her knees with her arms locked behind her.

"Let's get one thing straight here, lady. Your uncle, _Major_ Armstrong, put me in charge of this little unit's training. Now, since you're a part of this unit, then that means that I'm in charge of your sorry ass too. Now, stop your bitching and start exercising!"

She kept her glare on him, but she complied with his order only because her uncle and superior put him in charge. However, she wouldn't stop trying to kick his ass for humiliating her.

* * *

A week had gone by and Naruto was pleased with how far his methods had come for the unit under his tutelage. They were stronger because of his training, and they were able to react better during their spars with him and his clones. Said clones made sure to start off easy since they were obviously much stronger and faster than the average man of this world.

His only problem was Olivier. She had taken a hit to her pride on the first day and tried her damnedest to take him down to save face. However, each time she ended up on the ground and out of breathe with Naruto standing over her and looking just fine. She hated how weak he made her feel and how she could never make him even sweat, but she refused to give up.

While her reasons were disappointing, Naruto was pleased to see how much drive Olivier had gained in just a week. She pushed herself more than any soldier, doing twice the reps Naruto gave the unit and making sure not to rest until she was close to collapsing. One time she did, and Naruto had brought her Johnson to rest after he did his own checkup on her.

It was a relief to see that his medical jutsu could help even those without chakra.

"Alright, that's enough," called out Naruto as he stopped the unit from their spars with his clones. "Take a quick break before you get back to your duties. Olivier, Buccaneer, Miles, you all come with me."

The woman huffed at his order as she looked to the other two men he called. One was a tall and fit man with a mohawk and an automail arm while the other had Ishvalan features. She and the rest of the unit didn't care about that since the man was a good soldier, and Naruto didn't care simply because he had no reason to.

He knew about the growing animosity between Central and Ishval, but Miles was neither. He was a soldier of Briggs and a student of his; no one else. There was no war yet between the two countries, but from what Naruto had heard from both the Major and Miles, there would be one soon. News like that made Naruto sigh sadly since hatred always seemed to best peace no matter where he went.

The Uzumaki led them to the Major's office and the three soldiers saluted the man while Naruto stood to the side calmly. "Ah excellent, you're here," began the Major as he set them at ease. "Now, I had Uzumaki bring you here because of certain things I've read in his reports. Out of all the members in this special unit, you three seem to work together the best. So, with Olivier in charge, I'm placing you three on a permanent team under Uzumaki while the others will receive their training from his clones."

"Yes, sir," they replied, though Olivier looked like she wanted to argue.

"Now Uzumaki, I want you to push these three to their very limits. I want them to be the best damned soldiers Briggs has ever had so that when Olivier succeeds me the fort will be more than ready for any attack."

"You got it, boss man," said the whiskered blonde with a grin. "I just wish these three could've been my students back home. They'd make damn good shinobi."

Armstrong chuckled and nodded. Naruto had told him some stories of his older missions, and the Major was impressed with what these shinobi were capable of. Hearing the Uzumaki say something like that about his niece made him proud of her and her efforts.

Olivier herself was honestly surprised at what Naruto had said. All of the times she had trained under him, he seemed to undermine her and taunt her, making her feel weak. And now, here he was saying that she'd make a good soldier from his own homeland. She didn't know what to feel about it.

"Alright, you three will begin your personal training under Uzumaki tomorrow. Until then, dismissed."

"Sir," they saluted before Buccaneer and Miles left with Naruto while Olivier stayed in the room with her uncle.

"Major, sir," she began, getting his attention. "I wanted to…apologize for my actions towards Uzumaki. As a soldier of Briggs, and as a member of our family, I shouldn't have let my emotions and pride cloud my judgement. I understand that Uzumaki is truly helping us grow as soldiers, but I couldn't stand losing to him so easily."

"Olivier, you must understand by now that you couldn't have beaten Uzumaki at all in that first fight. From what I heard, he only used physical skills; none of those jutsu he's told us about. Imagine how much more of a challenge he'd be if he _did_ use them."

She looked down at that, knowing full well that she wouldn't have lasted a minute if Naruto used his full skills. "I understand, uncle…"

"Don't put too much worry on your skills when it comes to Uzumaki. Just keep up your training. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted you and your new teammates to be the best Briggs has to offer. And I have no doubts that Uzumaki will get you all there."

She nodded, standing a bit taller at her uncle's words of reassurance. "Yes, sir. I'll be going now."

"One last thing," he said, catching her before she fully left the office. She turned and saw him smirking at her as he finished, "Should you try to _strengthen_ any kind of bond with Uzumaki," she blushed at his suggestion, "you have my support. No doubt you two could bring forth even stronger descendants of our family line."

"U-UNCLE!" she cried in embarrassment before she slammed his door closed and stormed off, leaving the man laughing jovially in his office.

* * *

Naruto grinned at his three students as they completed their exercise and took out his clone unit. It had been around a full month since his arrival at Briggs and three weeks since he had taken his three man team, and the Uzumaki was proud at how far they had come.

It surprised him when Olivier apologized for her actions on the first day he had with them, though he saw it was still tough for her to do so. After that, she was much more willing to learn and take advice from him, and she didn't fight him much on his methods. Sure, she made a comment here and there, but she still went along with it and it paid off. She was the toughest of the three both physically and mentally.

Buccaneer had taken to the extra training like a fish to water. The young man was eager to get stronger and his physique was definitely showing the results. He was strong, no doubt there, but his biggest quality was his resilience. The guy could take hits and just plow right through them without a problem. Naruto compared him to an Akamichi with more muscle than mass.

Miles was the tactician of the team. He was able to keep up with the physical training, but it was his mind and intellect that truly shined out on the field. Naruto had even taken it upon himself to recreate a Shogi board using the warehouse and some clones to pose as pieces. Once the game was explained to him, Miles took to it easily. He still had a bit of trouble with Naruto's on-the-fly thinking and planning, but he was improving every game. He was like a more motivated Nara in Naruto's eyes.

All in all, he was pleased with his team and he doubted there was much else that he could teach them. During their last team spar, they actually forced him to break his own rule and use a jutsu. As soon as he did, he congratulated them and praised them for their progress. At the same time, he was pleased with his own efforts. Not many people could say that their students could push them that far with just a month's worth of training.

"Excellent work, you three!" he praised as they stood in front of him. "You've all gotten better, and much more than I actually thought you would in such a short amount of time. Buck," he turned to Buccaneer, "you're as strong as some men I knew back home, and you'll keep getting stronger so long as you keep fighting for something."

"You got it, sensei," replied the man with a grin.

"Miles," he turned to the half-Ishvalan, "you could give some of the best tacticians from home a run for their money. Remember that there is always a plan to be made, no matter how difficult the situation is."

"I will, sensei," said Miles as he gave his teacher a respectful nod.

Naruto nodded back before he turned to his last student. "Olivier, you are definitely stronger than most women I know. You have the drive, the skill, and the fortitude to lead this place and make it the strongest branch in your military. You may have your moments, but even then you can control them and use them to your advantage."

"Thanks…sensei," she replied with a faint smile.

"All in all, I'm proud of you and I doubt that there's anything else that I can teach you. From here on out, you must increase your own training however you can."

"What will you do now, sensei?" asked Miles.

"Me? I think I'm going to head to Central. The Major finally trusts me enough to let me leave, and he's pleased as well with all of your progress."

"You're leaving?" Olivier asked, unable to fully hide the disappointment in her voice.

"Yea, I need to start searching for a way to get home," he answered as he turned to her. "I'm worried about my friends and I need to get a move on. Armstrong said that Central will be my best bet since it has massive libraries and dozens of scientists. But, that doesn't mean I won't be back." He then grinned at them proudly. "If anything, I'll have to say goodbye to my best, and only, students before I go home. So, you'll see me again; I promise."

"When will you leave?" asked Buccaneer after he noticed that Olivier wasn't going to say anything else.

"Sometime later today. I wanted to have one last training session with you three before I left. In fact, Major Armstrong is waiting for us at the main gate of Briggs, so we better get moving."

They nodded, though Olivier fought to keep herself straight-faced as they made their way to the main gate. Along the way, she kept staring at the back of her teacher and she couldn't stop the sting she felt at realizing he was leaving. He had grown on her, far more than she thought he would, and she knew that she was going to miss him.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one since there were quite a few Briggs soldiers there with the Major. "So, today's the day, huh Uzumaki?" asked Armstrong.

"Yea, I need to get going. Thank you though for everything. You trusted me when you had no reason to, you gave me a place to sleep and food to eat, and you let me teach some of your own soldiers. I'm glad that I ended up here than anywhere else."

"So am I, my friend," replied the man as the two shook hands and brought each other in for a one-armed hug, much like brothers would do. "Take care of yourself, and don't worry; your secret is safe here in Briggs."

"I appreciate it," he replied before turning to his team. "Well, this is it. Wish me luck, yea?"

Buccaneer smirked and gave his sensei a fist bump. "Come back soon, teach. I want one last go at ya before you leave."

"You got it," Naruto said with a chuckle before he shook hands with Miles. "Keep an eye on them, Miles."

"Will do, sensei. And you take care of yourself," replied the red-eyed soldier.

"Of course!" replied the Uzumaki with a grin before turning to his last student, sticking his hand out to her. "I'll see you around, Olivier."

She looked at the offered hand and then to him, internally fighting herself before she gave up. Ignoring the hand she moved in and hugged him, making him and many other soldiers widen their eyes in surprise. "You better come back, idiot," she muttered into his flak jacket before she backed away from him with a dusting of pink on her cheeks. "I still have to kick your ass, after all."

Naruto laughed at the return of her fiery self and nodded. "I look forward to it, Olivier," he said as the gates opened. He faced the outside and gave everyone one last grin before saying, "Later."

With that, he shot forward with a boost of chakra, kicking up dust and snow as he shot off across the snowy mountain plains. He never saw the Briggs soldiers saluting him as he left, nor did he see Olivier watching his form get smaller with a smile on her face.

' _Next time we meet, Naruto, I'm gonna win,'_ she said in determination while her blush never left her face. (1)

* * *

 **1~ Before ANYONE asks me to, I am NOT adding Olivier. The pairing is STRICTLY Naruto with Trisha Elric. He just has a charm that can affect even the most hard-ass of women.**

 **Here we are with Chapter Two! I hope you all like what I did here and how much Naruto changed Briggs before Olivier even took charge!**

 **Next stop on his journey is Central, and there he'll meet someone else who's trying to learn Alchemy! Here's a hint on the identity: she lied about how she survived in the Briggs Mountains!**

 **Now, for those of you who might be confused, Naruto has arrived years before Trisha gave birth. This means that all of the major characters are either younger or not born yet (such as the Elric brothers and Winry). Naruto's journey to try and get home will take him years, but that doesn't mean that time will move the same back in the Elemental Nations. *winks***

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	3. Chapter 3: Equivalent Exchange

**Hi everybody! Well, here comes the next chapter!**

 **Some people pointed out that bold text for techniques is too distracting since it stands out a lot more. I find a lot of merit in their suggestion, so techniques will now be italicized only.**

 **As always, I own nothing!**

* * *

 _Butterfly Effect_

 _Chapter Three: Equivalent Exchange_

* * *

"Okay, note to self," began the violet-eyed blonde, "need a way to make some money."

He had just hitched a ride on a train, sneaking in by transforming into an unnoticeable rat and hiding out in the storage car. The ride itself took a while, considering the distance from the northern station to Central Station, but at least he was out of the cold. As soon as the train had stopped, he snuck out in the same manner used before, and dropped the jutsu in an abandoned alley.

Now, he was walking down the streets of Central with a map in hand. Armstrong had given him it before he left Briggs so that he could know where important buildings were. "Okay, the library should be just up ahead," he muttered aloud, looking up from the map to see said building right down the street. Stowing it away, he kept walking while chuckling to himself at the irony of the situation.

Before, Naruto wouldn't have dared to set foot in a library due to a severe dislike for books. He had been through plenty in the Academy back home, so he didn't think he'd ever need to read another after graduating. Now, it was crucial to figuring out a way home.

Stepping inside the library, he was stopped by a guard at the door. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Uh, no thanks. I was just going to look around," answered the Uzumaki. "Haven't been in a place like this for a while, so I just wanted to ease myself in, y'know."

The guard gave the blonde a narrowed look before nodding. "Don't cause any trouble."

Nodding in return, Naruto began to browse through the dozens of shelves stacked with books on all kinds of subjects. However, he was on the hunt for books associated with Alchemy. He had been given a brief overview of the science by both Armstrong and Olivier – both of them also giving their own opinions on the "crutch" – and he theorized that, if mixed with a chakra seal, he could possibly get back home.

While he was tempted to just use his clones to shorten the search, he knew such an action would definitely _not_ be a good idea. This world couldn't utilize chakra or jutsu, so seeing multiple copies of himself suddenly appearing would no doubt set off some alarms.

"Need help with anything?" asked an elderly voice, making Naruto turn to see a middle-aged man with a kind smile and a nametag reading "Rolf" on his collared shirt.

"Yes, actually," sheepishly began the blonde. "I was looking for books concerning Alchemy studies. I was only told a little bit about it, and I was interested in finding out more."

"Alchemy, eh?" asked Rolf. "Well sonny, you're in the wrong section if you're looking for those kind of books." Taking the lead, he guided Naruto up to the second level of books and to the easternmost side of the building. "These shelves here will have plenty of books regarding that science. But, if you're going to start off fresh, then I recommend this."

Taking the offered book, Naruto looked over the cover and saw that it was a basic textbook on the subject; one that he could find from a student. "Thanks. So, how would I check this out?"

The man chuckled and shook his head. "Go ahead and keep it." He chuckled again at the surprised look on Naruto's face. "The truth is, I have so many of that particular book donated to this facility that I'm trying to get rid of the extras. I've got a couple of boxes full of it, so go ahead and take it."

Grinning at the elderly man, Naruto replied, "Thank you very much! I really appreciate it."

"It was no problem. You're honestly doing me a favor after all."

Both men chuckled at that before Naruto remembered something. "Not to take advantage of your help, but do you know where I can find a job and a cheap place to stay?"

"All out of money?" asked the man knowingly.

"More like I never had any," sheepishly answered the Uzumaki. "This is my first time here in Central, and I don't know the currency."

"Oho, so you're a foreigner, eh? Well, if I were you I'd make myself scarce from this city." He saw Naruto raise a brow, so he elaborated, "Central has placed requirements for foreigners to have passports in order to stay inside the city wall. With the growing unrest between Amestris and Ishval, I'm not all that surprised." Leading the blonde over to a map, he pointed to a town to the south. "Head over to Dublith, past Rush Valley. Last time I was there, the housing was reasonable and there was no shortage of help needed."

Naruto studied the map for a moment before turning back to Rolf. "That sounds perfect, except that I have no means to get there."

A twinkle was seen in the man's eye, one that showed he knew much more than he was telling. "I'm sure you can find a way, sonny. Now if you'll excuse me, I should see if anyone else needs some help." With that, he turned around and walked away, chuckling as he did so.

Naruto smiled at the man's retreating form. "Nice guy," he commented before he made his way back to the station.

Taking heed of Rolf's advice, Naruto took on the visage of an average looking Amestrian as he looked at the train schedules. Finding out that the earliest train leaving in the morning, he sighed and looked for said train. Once he found it, he sighed again and saw that it was going over maintenance for the morning's trip.

"Looks like I gotta find a place to crash," he muttered before he snuck around to the railyard and situated himself inside a rusted rail car. "Well, might as well take a look at this book…"

Setting it in his lap, he first tried to read the book from right to left, but that ended up being incorrect. It was strange to read it from left to right, but he supposed the different world he was in had different standards. However, the biggest question he had…

"How the hell can I understand this?" he asked no one as he stared at the legible text. He was used to seeing the symbolic writing of his home world, but this one had lettered text that he was able to perfectly understand. "Did that Truth thing do this…?" he mused before he shook his head and dropped the issue. No point in questioning his good fortune when he had some studying to do.

 _"Alchemy is the ancient metaphysical science/mystical art of manipulating and altering matter by using natural energy. This act is known as Transmutation and its sequence is usually described as:_

 _Comprehension – Understanding the inherent structure and properties of the atomic or molecular makeup of a particular material to be transmuted, including the flow and balance of potential and kinetic energy within._

 _Deconstruction – Using energy to break down the physical structure of the identified material into a more malleable state so as to be easily reshaped into a new form._

 _Reconstruction – Continuing the flow of energy so as to reform the material into a new shape._

 _The proper application of this craft requires not only a full understanding of chemistry and ancient alchemical theory, but also a sort of natural talent towards recognizing and manipulating the physical objects with energy, which require uncommon levels of intelligence and aptitude."_

"Damn… This Alchemy thing is much more complex than I thought. It's almost like seals, except more in depth…"

 _"There are many paths by which alchemists can transmute the various substances of the world, with some alchemists being said to transmute by way of the Four Classical Elements (Water, Earth, Fire and Air) and some by way of the Three Essential Principles (salt, sulfur and mercury), but the basic tenet at the very foundation of all alchemy is that of_ _Equivalent Exchange_ _."_

" _Equivalent Exchange_ , huh?" he mused. "Wonder what that means…" Flipping to the next page, he saw it start with the term he just read.

 _"The mystical practice of alchemy to create objects out of raw matter or turn one object into another is widely believed to be capable of anything – indeed alchemy is often viewed as magical or miraculous by those unfamiliar with the craft – but it is actually just a science; and as such is subject to certain laws and limitations, all of which fall under the concept of_ _Equivalent Exchange_ _. One of the first founders of this science and law noted: In order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed._

 _In standard practice,_ _Equivalent Exchange_ _is separated into two parts:_

 _The Law of Conservation of Mass_ _, which states that energy and matter can neither be created from nothing nor destroyed to the point of elemental nonexistence. In other words, to create an object weighing one kilogram, at least one kilogram of material is necessary and destroying an object weighing one kilogram would reduce it to a set of parts, the sum of which would weigh one kilogram._

 _The Law of Natural Providence_ _, which states that an object or material made of a particular substance or element can only be transmuted into another object with the same basic makeup and properties of that initial material. In other words, an object or material made mostly of water can only be transmuted into another object with the attributes of water."_

He reread the terms multiple times until it stuck into his mind. Leaning back, he thought aloud, "So…if something equal is needed to send me back…what the hell would it be?"

* * *

The next morning saw Naruto once again stowed away in a storage car as he continued to read his book. He had spent most of the night theorizing what he could offer in exchange for him returning home; but his choices came with many doubts. Chakra was an option, but the question was if – even with the chakra taken from the Kyuubi – he would have enough. His life was another option, even if it was a morbid thought; but he didn't want to waste going back home just to arrive dead or on its doorstep.

Those were the top contenders for payment, and he didn't think there would be anything else to offer.

Deciding to put that thought on the backburner, he had continued to read the book.

 _"Although no machine or equipment is needed to produce the energy necessary for Transmutation, merely understanding the sequence of __Transmutation_ _and the limitations of_ _Equivalent Exchange_ _is not enough. Just as the processes of_ _Comprehension_ _,_ _Deconstruction_ _,_ _Reconstruction_ _and the universal law 'In order to gain, something of equal value must be lost in return' are cyclical concepts, the circle is made up of the matter of your body and produces a kinetic energy."_

"The hell does that mean?" he mused with a frown. "My own matter…?"

 _"In order to begin an alchemical transmutation, a symbol called a_ _Transmutation Circle_ _is necessary. A_ _Transmutation Circle_ _can either be drawn on the spot when a Transmutation is necessary (in chalk, pencil, ink, paint, blood or even traced in dirt) or permanently etched or inscribed beforehand; but without it, Transmutation is generally impossible and all __Transmutation Circles_ _are made up of two parts:_

 _The Circle itself is a conduit which focuses and dictates the flow of power, tapping into the energies that already exist within the earth and matter. It represents the cyclical flow of the world's energies and phenomena and turns that power into malleable means._

 _Inside the Circle are specific alchemical runes. These runes vary widely based on ancient alchemical studies, texts and experimentation; but they all correspond to a different form of energy, allowing the energy that is focused within the circle to be released in the way most conducive to the alchemist's desired effect._

 _In basic alchemy, these runes will often take the form of triangles (which, when positioned differently, can represent the elements of either water, earth, fire or air), but will often be composed of varying polygons built from different triangles. For example: the hexagram is a commonly used base rune in_ _Transmutation Circles_ _because it creates eight multi-directional triangles when inscribed and can therefore represent all four classical elements at once. Other, more esoteric runes (including astrological symbols, symbolic images, and varying lines of text) are prevalent and represent a multitude of other, specific functions for the alchemical energy that is released."_

"Ugh," moaned Naruto as he held the book against his forehead. "This is ridiculous! How can something be so goddamn complex?" With a sigh, he closed the book and sealed away into his scroll before laying down on the metal floor of the storage car. "I need to process this… Just…compare it to seals, Naruto," he said to himself, hoping to inspire his own thought process. "Runes are like the symbols and the Circles are like the chakra needed…"

Needless to say, the Uzumaki didn't get much time to relax during the trip; or time to sleep for that matter.

* * *

"Now arriving in Dublith!" called out one of the conductors of the train, making Naruto wake up from the pitiable sleep he had been able to get because of his heightened senses.

"Thank the Kami," he muttered as he snuck out unseen and made his way to the town square of the city, yawning in exhaustion. "Damn… No more long nights in rail cars for this guy…"

Tiredly, he took a look around the town and nodded his head in appreciation for the homely feel it gave off. It certainly felt welcoming, and Rolf wasn't kidding at the amount of places asking for help. Food stands, a bakery, a deli, and even the local library were asking for people to apply for a job.

"Let's see… Which job sounds right for me?" he asked quietly to himself, cupping his chin with his eyes closed thoughtfully. "I remember Teuchi mentioning how he did business with both meat vendors and the bakery in order to keep up his stocks…" His stomach growled in agreement as he imagined how both places of business helped his _favorite_ place of business supply him with his favorite food in the whole world. "Alright! I'll go for the bakery first!"

With his mind made up, he confidently walked into his business choice in hopes of applying.

* * *

"There you are!" stated the whiskered blonde with a friendly smile as he handed the recent customer her bag of baked bread. "Thank you for your business, and have a good day, ma'am!"

The woman blushed faintly at the handsome smile he gave and offered her own smile in return before she left with her purchases. After she left, Naruto turned to the next customer and took their order, making sure to write it down on a notepad his boss had given him.

It had been a little over a week since he had applied at the bakery, and he was glad that the owner, Jenna Harrison, hired him that day. He didn't need to really say much since she had hired him within a few minutes of applying. Apparently, she mainly worked alone with occasional help from her eldest son when he was finished with his schoolwork.

Jenna was a single mother whose husband died during a hunting trip in the north with his friend from the deli. The friend had survived, but had lost a leg in the process and left Dublith out of shame for not being fast enough to save Jenna's husband. According to her, he had moved to Central and was killed in an alleyway about a year ago.

After hearing that, Naruto had applied to the deli as well in order to help the couple running it. They had greatly appreciated his application and he now had two jobs; the bakery in the mornings and the deli in the afternoons. His ninja training provided him with the necessary conditioning to perform their later deliveries while he also took up lessons from the husband of the couple, Dominic. His wife, Isabel, and son, Sig, also helped ease him into the deli workstyle, and he appreciated it immensely.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was almost time to start his shift at the deli and turned to Jenna, only to see her smiling knowingly. "Go on, I can handle the rest, Naruto."

He nodded and started to walk out, but didn't stop himself from saying, "You know where I am if you ever need a quick hand, boss."

Her smile softened and she chuckled at his kind gesture. "I'll be sure to ask Dominic if I need to steal you for a moment. Now get going; you know how he can get if you're late."

He grinned back and walked across the street, still dressed in his hairnet and apron as he walked inside the deli. As soon as he did, he was greeted by Isabel, "Right on time, Naruto! I need you to run a delivery to the Millers on 3rd Street."

He took off the hairnet and apron, setting them on the counter as he took the bag full of sliced meats. "Alright, be back in a flash!" he declared before he took off running, missing the woman smile at his retreating form.

Not dropping her smile, she walked back in and started to slice into some cleaned pig hide while her husband walked in from the back. "He take off?" he asked.

"Just now, dear," she answered, never stopping her work. "He's a good kid…"

"That he is," agreed Dominic as he washed his bloody hands and cleaver. "Shame he has no family around. A young man like him shouldn't be alone in life."

Isabel paused for a moment, her smile dulling for a fraction of a second, before she resumed her pace. "We could offer him-"

"Already tried," cut off her husband calmly. "He refused; not that I'm surprised. People like him are so used to making it on their own that the idea of receiving help is a hard concept to accept." He turned to her as he dried his hands, continuing, "He has an apartment just down the street thanks to his pay from us and Jenna. He'll be okay."

"I suppose… It's just…whenever I see someone like him trying to live on their own…"

"…you imagine our boy in their place?" finished the man knowingly, making her nod. He smiled softly and hugged her from behind. "Don't dwell on it, love. Sig is fine and so is Naruto. We're doing well with both of them."

She smiled in return and leaned into his embrace. "Thank you, sweetheart…"

* * *

"Another successful delivery," declared Naruto to himself as he made his way back to the deli, the payment in his pocket. "The Millers sure go through meat pretty fast…"

His musings were cut off when he heard a strange noise and saw a bright blue, almost white, light flashing from a nearby alleyway. Curious, he walked over to the end he was closest to and saw a young woman, a year or so older than him, looking proudly at the canary statue made from Alchemy at her feet.

"Hell yea!" she cheered to herself, unaware of her new spectator. "This is easier than I thought!"

"Nice work," complimented Naruto, making her turn to see him grinning from the alley entrance he stood at. "I read a lot about Alchemy, but I was never able to see it up close. How did you do that?"

She raised a brow and crossed her arms. "And you are?"

He blinked before rubbing his head sheepishly. "Oh, my bad. I should've introduced myself. The name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

Realization dawned on her and she replied, "You're that new employee at Sig's family's deli, aren't you?"

"Got it in one. You a friend of Sig's?"

She nodded. "Yep. I'm Izumi Smith," greeted the woman, offering a hand to him. (1)

He took it and didn't flinch when she squeezed it, making her quirk a brow. "Nice grip," he complimented. "You work out a lot?"

Shrugging, she answered, "When I have time. I'm practicing Alchemy, but I know it won't always be available to me when I'm out in the world. Better to have something else in hand, right?"

"Very true," he agreed. "If you want, we can spar sometime and see how we size up. I'm a bit of a fighter myself."

"Is that right?" She had an eager gleam in her eye. "Alright Whiskers, we can have a match. How's tomorrow sound? We can use one of the fields outside of town."

He nodded with a grin. "Great! See you then, Izumi!"

He then took his leave and she did the same, wanting to tell her friend Sig about her upcoming match.

* * *

The following afternoon, the Curtis family had allowed Naruto time off so that he could have his spar with Izumi and let their son go to watch. By the time the two of them arrived, they saw that Izumi was already there waiting for them.

"About time," she taunted with a grin. "I was thinking you were about to chicken out, Whiskers."

"You kidding?" he asked back with his own grin. "I wouldn't back down from any kind of fight; spar or otherwise!"

"Good," she returned as she cracked her knuckles and neck before taking a basic stance. "Then bring it!"

His grin still in place, he took the Toad Style beginning stance and stared down Izumi while Sig stood on the side and watched. The son of the deli couple wasn't a stranger to fighting either since his father made sure he had the means to defend himself, so he was curious as to what his friend and the blonde his parents hired could do.

Izumi acted first and juked herself closer to Naruto with her fists raised in a boxing style, throwing out a quick jab that he batted away with the back of his hand. Leaning forward and going low, he made to strike her abdomen, but she quickly hopped back before suddenly hopping back forward with a spin kick that he ducked under. As he dodged, he struck her leg and stood back up, making her fall to the ground with a grunt.

"Dammit," she growled out as she stood back up, holding back a wince at the pain in her leg. "You're a quick little rabbit, aren't you?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I'm just feeling a bit froggy," he joked back, mentally apologizing to his toad summons back home since they _despised_ being called "simple frogs".

She rolled her eyes at the attempt at humor before she went back in, throwing aimed swings and snap kicks to try and throw Naruto off balance, but he was able to see them all coming because of his training. He swerved out of the punches and pushed down each of her kicks with his hands, making Izumi grow frustrated and sloppy as the exchange progressed.

"You're good Izumi," began Naruto, before he grabbed her next kick instead of pushing it down. "But you get angry too easily." He then pulled her leg toward him and let go, throwing her off balance enough for him to drop and trip her with a sweep kick. As soon as she fell, she saw Naruto's fist in front of her face.

Sighing and laying her head down on the ground, she muttered, "Dammit, I lost…"

Looking back up, she saw Naruto's fist was now open, offering to help her up. Accepting it, she was pulled up to her feet while Naruto gave her a smile. "Like I said, you're good. But, you let your frustration trip you up and leave you open. Your style is also alright, but it reminds me of how I first started out; brawler style. While that style has plenty of moves to show off your well-earned strength, it can be beaten by more refined styles."

"Kinda hard to have another style when there's no one to teach you," she argued before smirking, "unless _you're_ offering?"

His smile returned to its grin and he was about to agree before a mental lightbulb clicked on. Feeling inspired by it, he said two words, "Equivalent Exchange."

She blinked at the term while Sig walked over to them. "Excuse me…?"

"Equivalent Exchange," he repeated. "How about you teach me how to get started on Alchemy if I teach you how to fight better?" He then looked over to Sig and said, "I'll help you out to if you help me out with a little project of mine."

Izumi was surprised at the notion offered to her while Sig politely declined, saying he was fine learning from Dominic; although, he did agree to still help Naruto with the project. After thinking it over, Izumi nodded with her own grin. "You got a deal, Whiskers."

"Great!" he exclaimed before holding out his hand, shaking hers as they sealed the deal. "You won't regret this, Izumi."

"You better hope I don't," she threatened jokingly, making the three of them laugh at her tough attitude. It was the start of a good friendship between the three of them.

* * *

Before he knew it, Naruto had been in this new world for half a year and his deal with Izumi had brought forth good results on both ends. Izumi was a naturally gifted fighter, so with his instructions on teaching her the Toad Style, she was able to grow stronger at an amazing rate. As for Naruto and his Alchemy studies, he had progressed moderately. To save time, he had drawn a basic Transmutation Circle on some paper tags he had made with his pay from his jobs.

There were two things he wanted to do with this amazing science he had been studying; find a way back home, and harness the wind. Since his natural affinity chakra-wise was wind, he felt it only natural to make his primary study of Alchemy be of the same element. One idea that stayed on his mind was mixing Wind Alchemy with his jutsu; specifically his _RasenShuriken_. If he could use Alchemy to provide the wind necessary for the technique, then he could possibly pull of the jutsu without the need for Sage Mode.

The idea left him eager to get Alchemy down faster.

Another thing Naruto did was a project he had been hoping to finish. With the wheat from the bakery, and the meat and spices from the deli, Naruto was able to make his own version of ramen through trial and error. After his success, he had Jenna, Dominic, and Isabel try it and they were surprised by the flavor and taste. Because of the successful test, Naruto had made a stand outside to see his new ramen and split the profits between the bakery and deli to repay them for the produce used.

Of course, they paid him back for the extra revenue with a raise, even though he tried to refuse.

Right now, Naruto was at the train station with Sig since Izumi was heading to Central to receive a higher level of study for Alchemy. The three had become good friends over the months with Izumi taking on an elder sister role for Naruto since she was a couple of years older than him (2). As for Sig, the two of them had bonded through their fists after a spar. After that, they had a good understanding of one another; even when Sig wasn't speaking, Naruto knew what he was saying.

The blonde smiled when he saw Izumi kiss Sig on the cheek before she gave him a hug. "Take care of yourself in the big city, sis," he said as he hugged her back.

As she pulled back, she replied, "Try not to kill yourself with whatever you're trying to do, brat."

The two shared a laugh at that before Sig helped Izumi step onto the train and she picked her seat. She lowered her window so that she could wave to them as the train began to drive away. Both Sig and Naruto stayed where they were with their arms raised until they could barely see the train.

"I'm gonna miss her," admitted Sig.

"Because you love her?" asked Naruto, earning a nod from the muscular man. Patting his back, he said, "Wait for her then. I have no doubt that she loves you too, and when she comes back to you waiting for her, then I'm willing to bet that she'll love you forever."

Sig turned to his friend and saw him grinning at him. Smiling back, he nodded and left without a word. Left alone, Naruto turned back to where the train was heading and smiled at the sun setting on the horizon. Raising a fist, he pointed it to the horizon and grinned confidently.

"See you when you get back, Izumi-nee."

* * *

 **1~ Izumi has no previous surname, so I decided to give her mine because I'm a narcissistic bastard *winks***

 **2~ Izumi and Sig are 18 right now while Naruto is 16, almost 17**

 **And there you guys are! This here was chapter three for you all! This was mainly made to have Naruto start his Alchemy studies, meet Sig and Izumi, and start a life for himself. Next chapter will have him move to Resembool and settle down…as well as meet a certain girl!**

 **Also, have any of you guys played the** _ **Paper Mario**_ **series (specifically the N64 and GameCube versions)? If so, then I'm gonna post a crossover with** _ **Naruto**_ **soon; just as soon as I can type it up! I hope that, whether you played the game or not, you check it out and like it when it's posted!**

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	4. Chapter 4: The Winds of Change

**Hi everybody! Here comes the next chapter!**

 **As always, I own nothing!**

* * *

 _Butterfly Effect_

 _Chapter Four: The Winds of Change_

* * *

Months went by in mere moments for Naruto, and he found himself in the early days of his second year in this world devoid of ninja. The young man of seventeen was in his apartment going over a formula he was in the midst of designing in his own personal notebook. Ever since his sister figure in this world left, he had pushed himself in his studies of science and alchemy, and the results left him with a greater degree of intelligence and wisdom.

Looking back on his past actions, given the time he had to think over them all, he realized that most of his victories were won by either luck, a refusal to back down, or his charismatic nature. He had been told by many people that he had a strange knack for getting people, be they ally or enemy, to be at ease and change their hearts for a more peaceful or significant life.

With Zabuza, he helped the man see that ninja weren't just weapons but were actually people capable of very deep emotions; as shown by his weak denial of loving Haku like his own child.

For Gaara, he helped his fellow outcast of the world see that he wasn't truly alone and that he didn't need to fight for just himself; proven by his siblings – Temari and Kankuro – standing by him regardless of their fear.

Not to mention how he changed the hearts of Princess Koyuki, Temujin, Hikaru Tsuki, and Priestess Shion while also helping Amaru open her heart and be true to herself.

The proof was real; he had a very charismatic aura about him. But even with the knowledge of having such a natural gift, he couldn't deny that he was also _very_ fortunate in his endeavors. Tsunade had said time and again that he had the "Devil's Luck".

Perhaps the Legendary Sucker's words held more merit than he originally believed.

He wished he had been more attentive in his Academy days instead of choosing to ditch class and cause mischief. If he had the same drive for knowledge he had now back then, he had little doubt that he'd be much more prepared for the life of a ninja. Hell, he would've been able to see that Mizuki planned to use him on the night he stole the Sacred Scroll.

Seriously, how could he be so naïve as to think that stealing a village _treasure_ was a _Makeup Exam_? He wanted to go back and smack his younger self for such idiocy.

But, that was in the past, and the life he lived shaped him into the man he was today. It was best for him to accept that he couldn't change it and live to the best of his ability; even if he had to _improve_ said ability.

A knock at his door broke him from his thoughts. "Come in," he responded, and the door opened to reveal a young girl of five with brown hair and cute green eyes.

"Mr. Naruto!" she greeted with a bright smile as she rushed over to him. "You gotta see! You gotta see!"

He chuckled at her enthusiasm as he stood up and let her pull him out of the apartment building. "See what, Elena?" he asked.

"Someone's doing magic tricks! They're making cool stuff with weird circles!" Elena exclaimed in excitement, intriguing the blonde Uzumaki.

 _'Magic tricks with weird circles, eh? Sounds like an Alchemist. But what's one doing here in Dublith?'_ he mused.

The young girl grabbing him by the hand was ignorant of his thoughts as she pulled him towards the large crowd of children with their parents nearby. Rudely – but she was a child, so it was slightly expected, she pushed her way through the other kids so that she and him could get a close-up view of the _magic_.

Drawing a circle on the ground, with a nearly worn out stick of chalk, was an elderly man who was easily pushing past his middle ages. He had solid gray hair that was brushed backward, most likely to hide some kind of bald spot, but his smile held a level of content that made the Toad Sage smile as well. The man looked pleased with his young audience and was visibly happy showing them his _magic tricks_.

"Now," he began, showing that even his voice was up there in age, "what should I make with this glass of," he set down an empty glass cup before emptying a small flask's contents into it, "water? Any ideas?"

His responses were eager shouts from the children, ranging from various animals, to a princess, or a castle. But Elena was able to speak above the other kids as she shouted, "Make it snow!"

"Snow?" questioned the man, slightly surprised at the suggestion. His smile returned along with a chuckle as he nodded. "Yes, I think that would a splendid idea. Now watch closely, young ones, as I make this water," he had the _Transmutation Circle_ light up and spark the water in the glass, "bring forth snow."

While the children were left mesmerized by the display, Naruto kept a keen eye on the water. Using chakra to enhance his sight, he saw it steadily disappear into a faintly visible vapor before rising up. Once it reached the height of someone's head, he saw it condense into grayish clouds while some sections grew more solid – though not by much – and fell back down as crystalized water molecules.

True to the man's word, he had made the glass of water bring forth a small bit of snow. To Naruto's amusement, he saw Elena look completely awed by the display and even held out her tongue for a couple of flakes to land on. When the last of the snow fell, Naruto respectfully clapped along with the children and their parents while the aged Alchemist held a content smile on his face.

"Thank you very much," he said in response to the applause. "Unfortunately, that's my last magic trick for you all." The children all moaned in disappointment while parents chuckled and Naruto gave an amused smile. "But, I'll be sure to come visit this town again; next time with a brand new set of tricks," he promised, earning cheerful agreement from the children.

As the parents ushered their kids away, Elena turned to Naruto with a bright smile. "Wasn't that cool, Mr. Naruto?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, very cool. But, does your mother know you're here?" At her sheepish look, he sighed dramatically. "You know she's gonna kill me for letting you wander off on your own. Go back to the bakery and let her know you're alright."

"Okay," she responded glumly.

"And hey," he continued, crouching down to gently raise up her chin, "tomorrow, if you're not in trouble, I'll take you out for some ice cream. That sound good?"

She brightened up at that, nodding happily before running off. "Bye, Mr. Naruto!"

He gave a small wave back before regarding the Alchemist who restored the small figurines he made out of the road back to normal. "That was nice of you to show the kids what Alchemy could do; even if they think it was magic."

The man chuckled in response. "Ah, but science _can_ be seen as a magical thing; if one has the proper respect for it."

"I suppose that's true. You just passing by, sir?" he asked politely.

"Yes, I was actually on my way to South City. I have family there I was hoping to see again soon. Though, I'll be staying here in this town for the night since my train leaves in the morning." He stood up and offered a wrinkled hand to the blonde, smile still in place. "My name is Victor Sullivan, though most people I've known called me Sully." (1)

Shaking his hand, he returned, "Naruto Uzumaki. I'm actually studying Alchemy myself, and I've been making steady progress."

"Though, not as fast as you'd like," Sully said knowingly.

"That's an understatement. Listen, I hope that I don't bother you by asking if you could give me some pointers on this. I know that you're time here in Dublith is limited, and I'm sure you'd like to check into a hotel soon, but-"

"Say no more, son," cut off the man with a chuckle. "I'd be more than happy to help you out. Come on, you can ask me all about it over some food; so long as you're buying."

"Deal," agreed the Uzumaki with a grin as he and Victor headed into town square.

* * *

"Well, by the look of these notes of yours," began Sully as he skimmed through Naruto's notebook, "I'd say you've got yourself some rather interesting ideas, kid. Most of them seem to be centered around wind, though."

"Yeah, I was thinking of specializing in that branch of Elemental Alchemy. I have a natural alignment to wind, according to some traveling gypsies I've run into over the years," he held back a wince at his blatant lie, being an honest man, "so I figured I'd go along with it for my Alchemy."

"Is that right?" Victor pulled out a cigar and gave Naruto a questioning glance, asking if he had any issue. When he saw the blonde wave it off, he lit the cigar and began to smoke. "I gotta say that you've made a decent amount of progress for being mainly self-taught. Sure, you were taught a few basics from your friend, but everything else you said you've come up with on your own." He pulled the cigar out of his mouth as he asked, "You didn't try anything, did you? This branch of science can get _really_ risky; especially if you're the reckless sort."

"I know that. Every time I decided to test something, I made sure to do it outside of town." He nodded to the west and continued, "There are a few abandoned buildings out in the fields that no one hangs around. And even then, I make sure I'm the only one there to test the design I've made."

"Good man. Now, based on what I've seen, I doubt there's much else I could tell you. You've made steady headway, and you have a creative mind which is important for Alchemy. The best advice I could give you is to experiment; try a design, analyze it, improve on it, and keep going."

The Uzumaki hummed thoughtfully at the advice. "Do you think I should broaden my horizons?"

"What, you mean leave your home?" Sully asked for clarification. "Well, if you really believe that it'll help you further your studies, then I say it's definitely something to consider. Just try not to avoid the chance to _really_ settle down. I once had a student that couldn't stay in one place any longer than a couple of months; always moving and searching for more clues to unravel about higher forms of Alchemy." He chuckled with a far-off look in his eyes. "Ah, Nate… He had a real opportunity to settle down with someone, but he chose to keep traveling."

"What happened to him?" Naruto pressed, curiosity driving the question.

"He's dead," the man answered curtly. "Irony is…he was killed by his own personally made _Transmutation Circle_. A shame too… He was a good man; a good friend."

Violet eyes dimmed at the man's response. "Sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"Don't beat yourself up over it," interrupted Sully. "You couldn't have known, and I was the one who brought him up. Anyway, the choice is ultimately your own; you either stay where you live and keep making your own progress, or you move out and see what else you can pick up." He wiped his face with his napkin and stood up from his seat as he stamped out his cigar. "Just remember what I said about opportunities and when to take them, kid."

Standing up as well, Naruto shook the man's hand and nodded. "I will. Thank you, Victor."

"Don't mention it. Good luck to you, Naruto Uzumaki," he bid before grabbing his things and walking away.

Left alone, Naruto paid the bill for the food before he made his way over to the bakery Jenna owned. Along the way, he thought over his options and weighed them. It was a tough decision since he had some semblance of a life here, but he still had to improve on his alchemic studies if he wanted to try and get back home. All of his chances were riding on the science he had taken up, and he knew he wouldn't make much more progress without some other kind of study source.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he wasn't aware that he had arrived at the bakery and that Jenna was giving him a concerned look. It wasn't often that her employee and friend was so out of focus, and each time she saw him in such a state had her worried. He was still young with his whole life ahead of him. He didn't need to be making such expressions or thinking so deeply.

"Everything alright, Naruto?" she asked as she washed dishes after a day of baking.

"Hmm?" he asked in response, being broken from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah I'm okay. I was just thinking…"

"About…?" pressed the woman, drying her hands.

"What to do… I've been making slow progress with my alchemy studies, and I know I could improve on it if I went to other cities. But, at the same time…"

"…You're comfortable here since it's familiar to you?" she supplied when he didn't finish. An understanding smile was on her face as she moved over to him.

He sighed at how well she could read him, sitting down on a wooden crate. "Yeah…"

Jenna kept her smile as she sat next to him, still amazed at how he was a full head taller than her and still had at least one more growth spurt awaiting him. "Naruto, let me tell you something," she began, earning his attention. "I've had you in my life for a long time now; nearly a year. And through it all, I saw that you had this determination in your eyes whenever alchemy was involved. Now, I don't know what brought on such determination, or _why_ you are so set on pursuing alchemy, but I know that it's an important goal you've made for yourself." She reached over and grabbed his hand, resting their joined fingers on his leg as her smile grew softer. "You want my advice?"

He nodded slowly. "Please…"

She gave a faint chuckle. "Go," was her simple reply, catching him by surprise. "I can tell how much this means to you, and I'd feel guilty keeping you here when you have so much more to see outside of this town." She held up a hand to stop anything he was about to say. "Don't. I know that you feel like you've made a commitment to myself and the Curtis family. You've done more than enough for both of our businesses; and you even helped us make a brand new food that makes _both_ of us some extra money. We'll be fine if you leave."

"But…a part of me doesn't want to go…" he said softly.

And it was true, for the Uzumaki had felt a strong sense of acceptance and belonging in the town of Dublith. He had never truly felt anything like that since his time at Fort Briggs; and he was sad to admit that he barely felt anything like that back in the Elemental Nations. And even then, it wasn't until he had defeated Nagato and his Paths of Pain that he sincerely felt accepted.

It took the near destruction of his home, the near loss of a close friend (Hinata), and the near submission to the Kyuubi and his own hatred for him to finally be accepted by his fellow villagers. It was a bittersweet victory in his eyes; mostly bitter.

At Briggs, he felt like he was a fellow soldier and had a strong camaraderie with the other soldiers. Not to mention his three students that he had grown to care for; even if they were a little older than him.

Here in Dublith…he was surprised to admit that he felt like he had a family. The Curtis family treated him like their own, and he saw Sig as a brother while Izumi was the teasing, yet caring, sister he never had. With Jenna…he felt something deeper. While her son and daughter were like little siblings to him – ones that he would help guide and protect – the woman herself gave off a motherly vibe that drew him in. Having grown up without parents, his very being longed for such a connection and the chance to have some kind of parental figure.

Jiraiya, for all of his faults, was still an important part of his life; the father he never had. Tsunade was able to partially fill the void that was there due to not having a mother; but the void was still there. It wasn't until he met Jenna – until she became a part of his life – that void nearly disappeared. After all, he couldn't outright deny his birth parents; especially when they died for him before the three of them could grow as a true family.

So, he couldn't fully commit to leaving when he had such bonds here in this town.

Jenna raised her free hand to his cheek, cupping it gently as she gave him a sincere smile. "I know you are… Part of me doesn't want you to go, either," she admitted. "But…like any parent grows to know," his eyes widened at that, "there comes a time when the children set off on their own."

"J…Jenna…" he whispered softly, still reeling from what she said.

She pulled him in for a warm embrace that left him frozen. "Go, sweetheart. There's a big world out there for you to see, for you to learn from." Her hand rubbed his back soothingly as his own arms finally moved up and returned her embrace. "We'll be fine here, and you could always come back to see us." She squeezed him a bit tighter as her eyes watered. "You will _always_ be welcome here."

His body trembled while his eyes were clenched shut, hopelessly fighting tears that rolled down his cheeks. This… _This_ was one thing he had always yearned for, and now that he had received it, he felt much more confident in the decision to head out.

"Thank you," he choked out.

The dam had been broken, and he held onto her for support; and Jenna was more than happy to give it to him. As he kept thanking her, she held him in peaceful silence and offered him her warmth, happy to give the orphaned young man the support he truly deserved.

* * *

"You have everything?" Isabel asked. She and her husband were standing at the side of the waiting train as Naruto stepped on with a large suitcase in hand.

He turned back to them and smiled. "Yep, I'm all set."

His eyes regarded everyone that was seeing him off; the Curtis family, Jenna, and her two children (Harris and Elena). The six people that he had grown close to were all there, and he felt a deep sense of contentment.

He had been seen off before back home, but this time was much more significant in his eyes.

"Be sure to write to us whenever you can," Jenna ordered playfully, earning a laugh from the blonde young man.

"I will; promise."

"ALL ABOARD!" shouted the conductor.

"Well, this is it," Dominic said before giving Naruto one last, firm handshake. "Best of luck, Naruto."

Sig was next, but he said nothing and just gave Naruto a confident smirk. Naruto understood everything that needed to be said with that one look; such was the bond he and Sig shared.

Isabel gave him a quick hug before stepping back. "Stay safe," she urged.

"It's all relative," joked the Uzumaki before his leg was hugged by Elena.

"Promise to come back, big brother!" she ordered cutely as she let him go and held out her pinky with a firm look. However, the building tears made it all the more endearing.

Naruto wrapped her pinky in his while his other hand rubbed her head affectionately. "Pinky promise." He then looked to Harris and said, "Take care of them, alright?"

"I will," promised the young teen.

"Good man," Naruto praised before standing up just in time for Jenna to hug him tightly.

"Everything everyone else said… Promise me that you'll do them all," she whispered.

"I will…" he assured softly as he hugged her back. "I promise."

"Good," she said – more like choked out due to her tears – as she let him go and stepped back. Watching him step on the train, she raised her arm and waved in farewell as the train left the station. "Be safe, sweetheart," she whispered unto the distancing train, knowing that somehow the young man that had brightened up her life would hear it.

And she was proven correct when the blonde Uzumaki suddenly felt a smile form on his face as he sat in his seat. "I will…Jenna-kaa-chan," he whispered to no one as he watched the passing fields. A gentle wind made the grass and plains wave and ripple softly, and the wind itself caressed his face from the opened window.

It was with this – these winds of change – that he knew was on his way.

* * *

 **1~ Picture him as Victor Sullivan from the** _ **Uncharted**_ **series. I'll be adding a few people from other sources into this story as side characters (only appearing for a chapter or two).**

 **And here we go! This fourth chapter ends with Naruto on his way to learning higher forms of alchemy!**

 **I know I said he'd go to Resembool this chapter, but I felt that I should have a chapter between his departure from Dublith and his arrival. Don't worry, he** _ **will**_ **settle down in Resembool; but he needs** _ **someone**_ **to help him do that!** _ ***winks***_

 **Until next time!**

 **pain17ification**


	5. Chapter 5: Those First Impressions

**Dammit all to hell! It has been far too long since I've updated!**

 **I need to fix that with THIS!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **pain17ification**_ **owns nothing**

* * *

 _Butterfly Effect_

 _Chapter Five: Those First Impressions_

* * *

With a groan, Naruto stretched out the kinks in his body as he stood outside the train station in the Amestrian capital city that was aptly named Central City. It was titled as such due to being in the very center of Amestris itself. It wasn't the first time he had been to the city, but the previous time had been rather short since he didn't have any identification or proof of his existence in the country.

After spending a year in Dublith, he had gained a personal identification card and other necessary papers; so, he wouldn't be blatantly accused of being a foreigner.

The plan he had was simple. He had heard of skirmishes happening in Ishval for many months; ever since he was training the Briggs soldiers. What he wanted to do was assess the situation, help anyone he could, and test his Alchemy in a combat zone.

One of the benefits of being found by Truth was that he could utilize Alchemy without having to draw a circle; however, he knew that it was a sign that he had _performed taboo Alchemy_. Something that was not true in the slightest.

"Need to start heading east, then," he mused to himself, picking up his travel bag and heading for the closest, and cheapest, inn. It was late in the day, and no trains would be leaving until morning. He had time to look for a proper departure schedule.

Currently, the Uzumaki was dressed in clothes that he had paid for and altered for personal preference. From his feet upwards, he wore black boots and some dark gray pants, and holding them up was a black belt with the Uzumaki symbol designed as a belt buckle. On his torso, he wore a white long-sleeved shirt underneath a rusty orange vest with a collar. Over it all, he wore a black hooded coat that reached the back of his knees and had the hood down behind his back.

Originally, he wasn't a fan of this world's clothing; but after having worn it for a year, he grew to tolerate and even like some of it. He was just glad to have some orange, since the color was very significant to him.

As he strolled down the sidewalk, he noticed that there were soldiers around the city, always in pairs of small groups of three to four. It bothered him slightly, not understanding why the military was frequently seen. As far as he knew, Amestris wasn't in a full-scale war with the Ishvalans yet; and there was no way the skirmishes had reached the country's capital city.

Something else was up, but he didn't want to needlessly get himself involved. This wasn't his city, country, or world. He had no business interfering just because he felt something was wrong.

So, he forced himself to ignore the soldiers and focus on finding a place to rest for the night. However, while he slept, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

He just didn't know when it would.

* * *

Once again on a train – this one heading for East City – Naruto was going over his notes in a second notebook that he kept hidden by means of a seal marked over his heart.

Inside of the notebook was a mix of sealing formulas and Alchemy notes, with some illustrations showing theoretical mixes of sealing matrices and Transmutation Circles. It was these combined illustrations that Naruto was the most nervous about testing.

Thanks to studying his father's notes on space-time theories in regards to fuinjutsu, the whiskered blonde was hoping to find a way to incorporate them with anything Alchemy could tell him on the same subjects. So far, he hadn't been able to see anything referencing them in any notebooks that late Alchemists had donated to Central City's library before their passing.

Currently, Naruto had three clones in the library; each with enough chakra to make a couple clones of their own to give him mental notes on their progress. The three main clones were looking over anything they could about Alchemy and late Alchemists; but almost all their findings proved fruitless.

On a positive note, some of the old notebooks helped him fine tune his own notebook's notes and drawings, which made his to-be-tested ideas more likely to succeed. This was good since there was one thing – besides finding a way home – that he _really_ wanted to try out.

Focusing back on his secret notebook, he sighed despondently when he couldn't think of anything to add or alter in his notes. Frustrated, he sealed them back up when no one was watching, turning his gaze out the window and watching the outside scenery change to the open countryside that he had come to appreciate.

Dublith was a city; there was no doubt about that. However, just outside of it were nice and open fields that seemingly stretched on forever. Naruto wasn't really the _city_ type, preferring to be in an environment where he could run without having to worry about feeling congested or closed in.

Enclosed areas were not his cup of tea.

From East City, he planned to head southward for a little town known as Resembool; which was the closest settlement to Ishval. His plan was to get a place to stay and a stable job so that, if things went sour during his time in Ishval, he had somewhere to come back to.

If he had to, he'd build a house himself with Alchemy and manual labor. It wouldn't be too hard since he had dozens of clones helping the people of Wave build up housing during the Hidden Leaf's reconstruction.

He fought a yawn as he went over his plan. It had been a while since he had just slowed down and relaxed; taken a rest. He was always either studying or working, which left little time for him to take a break from his troubles.

Here on the train, he decided that he had gone long enough without one. And so, he closed his eyes and slowly eased himself into a comfortable sleep. It would be a while before he reached East City, anyway.

* * *

It took him longer than he would've liked to finally reach Resembool – over a week of walking – but he had enjoyed seeing the southeastern countryside of Amestris during his travel. It was vastly different than the congestion of the city; which he was grateful for.

The first thing he noticed about the small town were the open fields that had multiple sheep herds grazing about. From what he had read and heard of this rural town, its biggest export was the wool from those sheep that would be used to supply the military and other cities with fabric for clothing. There was even an annual festival named after the livestock that celebrated the start of Spring.

As he walked down the dirt road towards the center – and busiest part – of town, he was greeted by polite inhabitants who were happy to see a new face to their relatively isolated slice of life. He greeted them back with genuine kindness, always happy to meet new people ever since he was younger.

In a bittersweet sense, he realized that it was because of his _own_ isolation from the Leaf villagers that made him yearn from newer, less judgmental, faces. Part of him wished he could've remained blissfully ignorant about that, but the truth was a painful thing; literally and figuratively. He mentally cursed the strange being of All and One before shaking off his depressing train of thought.

He brought himself back into focus just as he reached the town's center, letting him try and find the person in charge so he could request some land or look for a family with a room to rent. He also needed to find a job, which would be a bit hard given his current skillset.

He was a trained mercenary who could butcher, bake, and use Alchemy. In a rural town like Resembool, such a list of skills wasn't in high demand.

With a sigh, and amused chuckle at how similarly he felt when he first entered Dublith, he set off to find his future lodgings and employment. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

* * *

A week later and he was already wanting to go back in time and slap the bitch (1) out of his past self.

Sure, he had found a place to stay with one of the sheep herders, as well as a job in helping out on the man's farm; but it was definitely _not_ what he had hoped to get for the time being.

His room was small – which was understandable since it was just a guest room – and his job was quickly becoming monotonous; which bored him out of his near-adult mind. However, he wouldn't complain about it since the rent was rather cheap (especially with being a "farmhand") and the room was comfortable. Not to mention that his new landlord was a welcoming man and his wife was nothing but kind to him.

He could've had worse than this.

Taking back his earlier "plan" to slap his past self, he refocused on the paper tag that held his prototype Transmutation Circle drawn on it. The circle was wind based, and it was meant to help him gather natural wind to help his _Rasengan_ become its completed form. If it succeeded, he could use his strongest attack without having to gather natural energy by means of Sage Mode.

With narrowed eyes, he finished the last set brushstrokes and inspected his work. He checked every marking with excruciating detail before he slowly smiled and nodded once.

"Looks ready," he muttered to himself before he went out to one of the many fields far away from any of the farmlands or houses Resembool had. Forming two clones – one to assist and one to watch – he prepared for his first trial run. With the Alchemy Tag in his right palm, he focused on it, making it activate while the wind began picking up around him. Still focusing on it, he had the clone make the motions for the _Rasengan_ right above the tag.

The glow of the chakra sphere mixed with that of the tag as the wind grew faster around his form. The clone finished stabilizing the ball shape of his jutsu, and the original raised his hand skyward and put all his thoughts into maintaining the sphere while his Transmutation Circle sparked momentarily.

Things took a wrong turn as the wind picked up much more than it should have, absorbing into the _Rasengan_ without any warning. The chakra sphere quickly began destabilizing and grew out of control before, with an epic boom, it burst apart with the force of a hurricane. Naruto was left totally unprepared for the backlash and was sent flying at high speeds in a random direction while the force of the burst nearly knocked him unconscious; leaving his dazed form to shoot away from the fields like a human projectile.

* * *

A yawn was the first thing she did that day, along with getting the sleep out of her eyes, before she started her morning ritual. A quick shower, brushing and tying her hair, and putting on some clothes she wasn't worried about getting dirty. Once she was freshened up and dressed, she had a small breakfast before going out into her gardens to work.

For hours, she would pick ripened produce, ready the soil for more seeds, remove pesky weeds, and maintain the yards that bordered her gardens. It was hard work, especially with the sun's heat; but she was content with her life. She was a simple young woman who had no grand dreams of a _better life_. In her eyes, her life was just right and had no crazy surprises.

At least, that's how she always viewed her life before something surprising _did_ happen.

She was in the midst of cleaning her produce and readying them to take to the market when a large object came crashing through her window, easily breaking apart her dining room table before slamming into her wall and lying still. Naturally, she gave a surprised and fearful shriek at the sudden invasion of her home; but what scared her more was that the object was actually a young man who was out cold on her floor.

Her concern for his health overshadowed her fears, and she quickly rushed over to his side to make sure he was alright. She was relieved when she felt a pulse, and the only concerning wounds he had were cuts made from her window and table, as well as the large bump on his head from impacting her wall; an impact that was hard enough to make a fairly large crack.

With no second thoughts, she dragged him to her living room and placed him on her couch before getting necessary items to help soothe his discomfort. Water, rags, and bandages were a must, but she also put some leftover stew on the stove to reheat in case he needed food upon his recovery.

As she got everything ready, one thought kept circling in her mind. _'Who are you?'_

* * *

A weak groan signaled his awakening, and Naruto didn't hesitate to berate himself for his lapse in judgment as he felt his head throb from whatever he slammed into. He made an attempt to sit up, but a soft hand firmly pressed down on his chest to keep him lied down.

"You shouldn't push yourself," he heard a woman speak up. "You went through a bit of a tumble through my kitchen table after crashing through my window."

' _Shit,'_ he mentally cursed, knowing that he would have to help with the repairs since it was his fault. He finally opened his eyes to look at his new caregiver, and they widened slightly at what he saw.

She was relatively young, maybe a couple years older than he was at most. Her hair was a nice chestnut shade of brown, brushed straight and tied to her right side to rest over her shoulder. Her eyes were a vibrant green, like leaves in the Summer light. Her face was a creamy shade and free of blemishes, having a wonderful heart-like shape to it that accentuated her natural beauty. As for her clothes, she wore a light lavender dress beneath a white apron that was stained with dirt and grass; more than likely from working outside.

' _Wow…'_ He couldn't help his amazement at how beautiful she looked, but he caught himself before he came off as awkward or impolite. Giving her a smile, he said, "Thanks for tending to me, and sorry about the damages. I'll repair them for you, no sweat."

"I'm just glad that there won't be any dead bodies on my kitchen floor," she joked, making him chuckle awkwardly. "But I appreciate the offer. I'd do it myself, but I don't have the supplies to repair the damages."

"Nonsense. I broke your belongings; so, it's my responsibility to fix them." He attempted to sit up again, but he caught her giving him a stern look that cowed him. It reminded him of when he was about to be scolded by Tsunade; or worse, Sakura.

"You won't be doing anything until I say so. You've got a major bump from hitting my wall, and you've still got plenty of cuts…to…heal."

She couldn't help but slow her words down to a halt as she checked beneath his bandages, shocked to see that all his cuts were gone. Unblemished skin was all she saw, with no evidence that he had been hurt in the first place. She then placed her hand on his head, expecting to feel a large bump still.

A bump she felt; but nowhere near as large as it was earlier.

"How did you…?" she trailed off, unable to understand what she had witnessed. She was _positive_ that his wounds were worse than a small bump on the head.

"I always healed fast," Naruto explained, trying to stay calm through her near freak-out. "My family was known for our durability and recovery."

"Your family? Is it like some sort of lineage or something?"

"Something like that," he answered with half-truth. It wouldn't be a good idea to say that it was a bloodline from a ninja clan from another dimension, after all. "So, would you mind if I got started on those repairs right now?"

She shook herself out of her stunned state before giving him a frown. "Fast healing aside, I'm not going to take any chances. You're going to rest there for a while longer…" She then blushed in embarrassment and added, "Plus we never even got each other's names."

He sweatdropped at that. "Oh yeah… Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I moved here just last week and work on the Jameson's farm."

She blinked in realization. "Oh yes, I believe I saw you in town when you arrived. You looked lost and frustrated."

He face palmed to hide his embarrassment while she giggled at the memory of his frustration. "Yes… That was most likely me…"

Between her giggles, she introduced herself, "I'm Trisha Elric. It's nice to officially meet you, Naruto."

"You too, Trisha," he replied with his smile returning. "So, not to impose, but what's cooking?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh no!" Rushing to the kitchen, and to the forgotten pot of stew, she quickly removed it from the stovetop and checked to see if it had overcooked. With a relieved exhale, she saw that it was fine and poured two bowls before moving back to the living room. "Here you go. It's pork stew with broccoli and carrots."

In the past, Naruto wasn't a fan of vegetables. But growing up made him see their importance to his health and he ate them by mixing them with better tasting foods; preferably with ramen. The stew that Trisha had offered him smelled wonderful, and as he ate, he noted that the veggies were actually enjoyable in the broth.

"It's delicious," he complimented. "Did you cook this yourself?"

"I did, but it took me a few tries to get it right when I was learning it from Miss Rockbell," she admitted sheepishly. "But I'm glad you like it. Just finish that bowl and then you can get started on the repairs." He nodded with a smile before returning to his meal. "If I may ask, what happened that made you crash through my window?"

"An Alchemy test that went wrong," he answered with a sigh, setting down his bowl on the small table in front of the couch.

"Alchemy?"

"Think of it as a _mystical science_. Children see it as magic, whereas those who recognize it see it as an invaluable study."

She still looked confused. "I don't follow."

The whiskered blonde gave her a smile. "Perhaps a demonstration would be best?" he suggested, getting up from the couch and heading for the kitchen, where nothing had been moved since he crashed through it. He cringed at the sight before steeling himself and pushing all the broken table pieces into a pile. "With Alchemy, I could repair your house pretty easily; like so."

He clapped his hands together, letting matter flow through him before placing his palms over the broken table. Sparks of lightning erupted from his hands, making Trisha jump back in surprise before her eyes widened at her table breaking down and reshaping itself into a near-exact replica of what it used to be.

Once he was finished, Naruto inspected his work and grinned at the internal design he had put into the wood. The grain had flowed in swirling patterns instead of straightened lines, giving the table a unique style to it that would catch the eye of any visitors.

Turning back to Trisha, his grin grew as he said, "It's like it was never broken."

"Amazing," she gasped out, moving over to her fixed table and marveling at how it looked. She looked back at him and asked, "How did you do that?"

"I simply took what you had and used Alchemy to break it down and reconstruct it into what you see now. Give me a minute and I'll do the same to your window. As for the wall…" He scratched the back of his head. "Well, it isn't broken; just a crack from my head. I'll patch it up after I get some supplies from town; but I can't fix that with Alchemy."

She stayed silent as she watched him gather the remains of her window and reconstruct it like he did with her table. This time, he made sure it matched her other windows so that it wasn't so obvious that it had been damaged. Once he was done, he set it in place and – borrowing some of her tools – secured it so that it couldn't be removed so easily.

"There we go," he declared with a smile, putting her tools away and wiping his hands with a rag she had offered him. "I'll patch up your wall as soon as I can; which might have to be tomorrow considering how late it's getting."

She blinked at that, barely realizing that the sun was setting; indicating that it was rather late in the afternoon. "I suppose that would be for the best…"

She walked him out the door of her home, smiling at the rather embarrassed expression he had on his face. "Well, I appreciate the care and comfort you've shown me, Ms. Elric. I'm sorry again about your house, and I'll try to be less reckless with my Alchemy tests."

"No harm done," she assured him sincerely. "You've already repaired most of the damage, and I'll be expecting you tomorrow afternoon."

"Promise," he replied before he gave her a respectful bow. "Good evening to you, Ms. Elric."

With that, he turned and headed back to the Jameson ranch. Before he got too far, he heard her call out, "My friends call me _Trisha_." When he turned back, he saw she was still smiling at him. "Have a good night, Naruto."

Grinning brightly at her, he nodded and said, "See you tomorrow, Trisha."

She watched him go on his way, her smile never faltering. When she couldn't see him anymore, she reentered her home and headed for her landline. Dialing up the Rockbell house, she waited for Pinako Rockbell – the automail engineer and her cooking instructor – to pick up.

 _"Hello. Rockbell residence," she_ heard Pinako greet over the phone.

"Miss Rockbell, it's Trisha."

 _"How nice to hear from you, dear. To what do I owe this early evening call?"_

"I just had a strange day, and I thought you'd like to hear about it," she answered with a smile, baiting the aging woman.

 _"Is that so? Well, don't leave me guessing on what happened, girly."_

Giggling, Trisha replied, "Let me tell you about a nice young man named Naruto Uzumaki…"

* * *

Late in the evening, Naruto was still going over his notes on the tag he had tested earlier. Something had gone wrong, and in order to improve on it he would need to find out where in his Transmutation Circle he went wrong.

His eyes were narrowed in frustration, scanning every millimeter of the illustration for _anything_ that could explain why the failure had been so uncontrollable. The circle was meant to gather wind and reshape it into sharpened blades that would surround his _Rasengan_ and turn it into the _Wind Style: RasenShuriken_. Instead, it destabilized the parent jutsu and exploded as blunt force strong enough to almost knock him unconscious.

 _That_ was not supposed to happen. It was maddening how it failed when he was _sure_ that everything had been correct. Because of everything that had happened, he was determined to correct his blunders so that he wouldn't have any more impromptu flying sessions.

By the time he called it a night, it was close to one in the morning; just a couple of hours before dawn and the start of his workday. The sole Uzumaki of Amestris was in for the long haul come daybreak.

He knew it.

* * *

 **1~** _ **Deadpool**_ **reference to when the Merc with a Mouth was arguing with Colossus on the highway.**

 **FINALLY UPDATED! It's been WAY too long since I gave this idea any love, and I apologize to ALL OF YOU! It was unfair to leave you all hanging like that after over a year of NOTHING.**

 **I hope to not let you guys down anymore.**

 **In unrelated news, I have been accepted for a better job that will be taking a bit more of my time (with a MUCH better pay being the tradeoff). So, please do not be surprised if updates for any of my stories take a bit. It'll take some time for me to get used to the new job and its schedule.**

 **In FanFiction news, I have a poll on my profile that I will end once I have reached 300 submitted votes. Please vote on it! Thank you!**

 **Until next time!**

 _ **~pain17ification~**_


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